1886.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 369 



It seems pretty safe to assume that T. alpestris does not occur, at 

 least regularly, anywhere iu Northern Europe; otherwise it should 

 hardly escape attention. The specimen figured by Dresser, however, 

 is said to have come from Schleswig. Whether there has been a trans- 

 position of label, or Schleswig misread for Schlesieu, is difficult to say. 

 Too great stress cannot be laid upon a dealer's label, though, of course, 

 very little can be said against the supposition that the bird was a 

 straggler from Middle Germany. 



At any rate, it will only be possible iu the future to fix the limits of 

 the two species, and for that reason their discrimination is very impor- 

 tant. It can hardly be doubted that this question can be satisfactorily 

 solved by the material already in the European collections. Ornitholo- 

 gists should be very careful, however, to base their conclusions solely 

 upon breeding birds, the habitats of which are unquestionable. 



SYNONYMY. 



Turdus alpestris (Brehm). 



1828. — MeruJa alpistris Brehm, Isis, t-i^S, p. 1281 {nom. vud.).—Id., Hauclb. 



Vog. DeutachL, p. 377 (1831) {de8cr.).—Id., Isis, 1848, i>. 92.— Id., Jour. f. 



Oru., 1856, p. -.Mii.—Id., ibid., 18.%, p. 446.— id., ibid., 1860, p. 239. 

 1855. — Merula vociferaufi Beehm, Naumauuia, 1855, p. 281 (??om. mid.). — Id., 



Jour. f. Oin., 1856, p. 446. 

 1855. — Merula mactilata Brehm, Naumanuia, 1855, p. 281 (nom. nud.). — Id., 



Jour. f. Oru., 1856, p. 446. 

 1856. — Merula insignis Brehm, Journ. f. Orn., 1856, p. 440 (no?«. vud.). 

 Turdus iorquatus et Merula torquaia auct. mult. part, nee Linn. 



Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii, pi. 15, fig. liev. 



description. 



(? ad. {U. S. Nat. Mus. Xo. 106458; Sweet Waters, Turkey; Augusts, 1877; W. 

 Pearce). Whole upper surface dull browuish black, gradually fading towards the 

 rump, each feather narrowly raarginated with ochraceous gray, and considerably 

 abraded; throat and upper part of fore neck similar, but the edges more whitish, 

 and the chin nearly white; across the prepectus a broad, dirty- white semilune; 

 the rest of the lower surface variegated of black and white, in nearly equal propor- 

 tions, the individual feathers being white with a broad sub-marginal brownish-black 

 V-shaped mark ; upper surface of the wing of a ground color i^iuiilar to that of the 

 back, but lighter; the primaries narrowly edged with whitish-gray, slightly tiuged 

 with buff, while the secondaries and greater coverts are broadly edged, and the 

 middle coverts broadly tipped with the same whitish color, making a large and 

 conspicuous patch ou the wing; lining of the wing and axillarics whitish, slightly 

 mottled with dusky. Bill light, basal portion of upper mandible aud tip dusky : feet 

 horn-brown. 



Com])ared with a specimen of typical T. torquatua in what appears ro 

 be exactly the corresponding plumage ( S ad. No. 099(59, Kostock, Ger- 

 many) the differences are very great. The latter has the dark color of the 

 upper surface more saturated, more uniform, and perceptibly browner, 

 with light margins to the feathers ; the throat is similarly uniform dark, 

 Proc. N. M. 80 24 October Jg«, fi 886. 



