18 bdbonidjE. 



strongly characterized on the upper tail-coverts ; tail yellowish buff, 

 whitish at tip, and regularly barred with dark brown, of which about 

 eight bars (some partly broken up) can be distinguished on the outer 

 feathers, the two centre ones more dusky than the rest, and crossed 

 with six or seven bands of dusky brown, often much dissolved and 

 mingled with the interspaces, which are thickly mottled and vermi- 

 culated with brown ; lores and feathers round the eye white, the 

 former black at the tip of the shafts ; just above the eye a patch of 

 black feathers, continued to £»nd appearing to form part of the ear- 

 tufts, which are 3*2 inches long, and black with tawny bases, the 

 long feathers uniform yellowish buff on the inner web, and barred 

 with black near the base of the outer ; ear-coverts dull fulvous, 

 with indistinct brown cross-barrings ; chin pure white, the throat 

 encircled by a row of slightly recurved feathers, yellowish buff, 

 streaked down the centre with black, and also laterally barred with 

 narrow lines of the same, exactly resembling the plumes on the 

 sides of the neck, of which this gular band seems a continuation ; 

 rest of under surface white, slightly washed here and there with 

 yellowish, the breast-feathers broadly streaked down the centre 

 with black, all these feathers slightly varied with lateral vermicula- 

 tions of brown, the central streaks reduced to a narrow shaft-line 

 on the abdominal feathers and flanks, these being, however, finelj' 

 but regularly barred across with dark brown, disappearing on the 

 under tail-coverts : crop covered with tawny down, succeeded by a 

 patch of pure white feathers in the centre of the breast ; leg-feathers 

 buffj' white, with a few remains of brown zigzag bars on the outer 

 aspect ; under wing-coverts pure white, here and there washed with 

 yellowish, the outermost slightly marked with irregular lines of 

 brown, the axillaries being also crossed with narrow lines of the 

 same ; lower series ashy brown, yellowish buff at base, forming a 

 bar across the wing ; inner lining of quills for the most part orange- 

 buff, with a few distinct brown bars on the inner web, disappearing 

 towards the tip of the quills, which are there dusky brown. Total 

 length 2(> inches, wing 19, tail 11-2, tarsus 3"4. 



Hah. Central Asia, from the Ural to Turkestan and Thibet ; also 

 said to occur in Siberia. 



a. Ad. St. Siberia. 



h. Skeleton, River "Volga. Purchased. 



Obs. This bird, if not quite specifically distinct from B. ic/navus, 

 undoubtedly constitutes a well-marked race of that species. It is a 

 verj' much paler bird both above and below, being especially white 

 on the under surface, the cross-barrings on the abdominal plumes 

 being much fewer and further apart. ; the legs also are covered with 

 white feathers, which extend further on the foot and cover the 

 junction of the toes and claws ; the tail is different also — in B. 

 ignavus the two central feathers being brown, with faintly indicated 

 bands of fulvous vermiculations, whereas in B. turcomanus the pre- 

 vailing colour of these feathers is tawny buff, about eight cross bands 

 of brown being distinguishable, while, instead of the lateral feathers 



