E. LÖNNBERG, BIRDS FROM TRANSBAICALIA AND MONGOLIA. 11 



Coloeus dauuricus neglectus (Schlegel). 



Ibizik 9 (n:o 12) ^-jö 1908. 



This specimen is a very dark bird, above black or blackish 

 brown, below blackish grey, earcoverts and all feathers on 

 the sides of the head behind the eyes tipped and f inely streaked 

 with hoary whitish. The plumage is not much glossy but 

 in every place where Col. dauuricus shows a stronger metallic 

 lustre than elsewhere, the gloss is more pronounced in this 

 dark specimen as well; for instance, on top of the head, on 

 the lesser and median wingcoverts, a band across the wing 

 just outside the tips of the greater coverts, and upper tail 

 coverts. This fact together with the whitish streaks on the 

 ear coverts and feathers behind the eye reminds strongly 

 of C. dauuricus. It appears therefore probable that this 

 bird is to be regarded as a melanistic race of C. dauuricus, 

 the third name »neglectus» has however been retained because 

 it seems, to judge from notes kindly furnished by Mr. Bamberg, 

 as if in some places only dark Doles were to be found thus 

 forming a local race. Mr. Bamberg writes to me as follows: 

 »N:o 52 was killed north of Iro river, near Orchon river, 

 south of lat. 50° on the western ranges of theKentei-mountains, 

 at an altitude of about 900 m. in Mongolia. I saw on the 

 slopes of the mountains about 10 more such specimens and 

 killed 2 more of these, exactly similar in size and colour but 

 they were so very badly shot that they could not possibly 

 be prepared. In the whole neighbourhood I did not see 

 any other Coloeus within a range of about 50 kilometers, 

 then I found n:o 45 (Col. dauuricus). It appeared very 

 stränge to myself that I did not otherwise in the whole country 

 find any more such specimen, thus only in the above men- 

 tioned mountainous region which was surrounded by the 

 mountain ridges. It seemed to me as if it was a quite small 

 isolated group. I observed a long time their movements 

 and took their eggs^ from a hole in a fir tree. They sat either 

 in the about 15 m. high fir trees on the mountain slopes or 

 on the rocks — always within a circle with a radius of about 

 V2 kilometer.» 



A similar isolated life of the dark Doles has also been 

 reported by Taczanowski who quotes (1. c. p. 525) Pater 



^ These eggs are according to Dr. Ottosson smaller than those of 

 Col. dauuricus. 



