MOTACILLID.E — THE WAGTAILS. 



167 



They leave their breeding-places in October, collecting and moving in 

 small Hocks. 



Their eggs measure .79 of an inch in length and .59 in breadth. The 

 Tronnd-color is of a gi'ayish-white so thickly flecked with fine ash-colored 



and black dots as to 

 hue. 



'ive the entire egg the effect of a uniform dark ashen 



Genuj^ BUDYTES, (lvier. 



Budytes, C'rviER, R. A. 1817. (Tjije, MoUwilla flava, LiXN.) 



The recent discovery of a species 

 of yellow-bellied Wagtail in Xortou 

 Sound, by the naturalists of the Rus- 

 sian Telegraph E.^pedition, adds an- 

 other member of an Old World fam- 

 ily to the list of American birds. 

 Much confusion exists as to the pre- 

 cise number of species in the genus, 

 some grouping together as varieties 

 what others consider as distinct spe- 

 cies. There is an unusual degree of 

 variation with age, sex, and season, 

 and this, combined with strongly 

 marked geographical peculiarities, ren- 

 ders the proper solution of the problem impossible to any Imt those hav- 

 ing access to large series. 



Budytes flava, Linn. 



YELLOW WAGTAIL. 



MotaciUa fl/wa, Linn. Syst. Nat. I (1706), 33. — Finsch & HARXLArii, Vbgcl Ostafrika.s, 

 268. Budijles flava, Box. (1838). — Middexdorff, Sibirische Eeise, II, ii (1852), 

 168. — Deguand & Gerbe, Ornith. Euiop. I (1867), 376. — B.\ird, Trans. Chicago 

 Acad. Sci. I, ii, p. 312, pi. .x.xx, fig. 1 ; 1869. — Dall & Ban.ni.ster, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 

 1869, 127. — Trlstram, lliis, 1871, 231. — FiNSCH, 1872. 



Sp. Char. Description of .^^pecimen No. 4.0.912, taken at St. Michael's, Norton Sound, 

 June 6, 18GG, by H. M. Bannister. Above, including edfres of upper tail-coverts, rich 

 olive-green, the top and sides of the head and neck pure a-sh-gray ; chin and well-marked 

 stripe from nostrils over the eye to the nape, white ; all under parts rich yellow, tinged with 

 olive on the .sides. Stripe from corner of mouth through the eye, and involving the ear- 

 coverts, blackish-a.sh. Feathers of wings and tail dark brown ; the coverts and seconda- 

 ries edged with olive (showing the obscure light wing-bars), the longest of the latter 

 edged externally with white ; innermost quills edged externally with white. Outer three 

 quills nearly equal and longest (the prolonged secondaries as long), the others graduating 

 less. Outer tail-feathers and shaft white ; the inner web edged externally with dusky, 



