508 MOTACILLID^, 



1882, p.' 110; Bidchdph, t.c. p. 230; Oates, B. Brit. Bunn. i. p. 163 



(1883) ; Severtz. Ibis, 1883, p. 63. 

 MotaciUa citreoloides, Grai/, Hand-l. B. i. p. 247, no. 3584 (1869) ; 



Dresser, Ibis, -1876, p. 178; Brooks, t. c. p. 502. 

 Budytes citreoloides, Homeyer ^- Tancre, MT. orn. Ver. Wien, 1883, 



p. 86. 



Nestling and young bird in first plumage. Not to be distinguished 

 from the corresponding stage of M. citreola, but apparently rather 

 darker and browner and not so ashy. 



Adult male. General colour above glossy black, a little mixed 

 with grey on the rump ; upper tail-coverts black, the lateral ones 

 slightly edged with white ; lesser wing-coverts ashy brown with 

 black bases ; median wing-coverts white, with black bases and 

 slightly washed with yellow ; greater coverts blackish, broadly 

 edged and tipped with white, the inner ones entirely white except- 

 ing for a blackish base, which, however, is concealed ; bastard-wing 

 blackish ; primary-coverts and quills blackish brown, edged with 

 white, the inner secondaries with a broad white margin ; tail- 

 feathers black, narrowly fringed with white, more broadly on the 

 third ; the two outside feathers for the most part white, with an 

 oblique mark of black on the inner web ; head all round and nape 

 as well as the sides of the face and entire under surface of the body 

 bright golden yeUow ; the long under tail-coverts white, slightly 

 washed with yellow ; sides of upper breast black like the sides of 

 the neck ; flanks slightly washed with greenish ; under wing-coverts 

 and axUlaries white, the latter slightly washed with yellow ; quills 

 dusky below, white near the base of the inner web. Total length 

 6-6 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 3-25, tail 2-9, tarsus 1. 



Adult fenude in hreeding-plumage. General colour above ashy 

 brown, clearer ashy on the lower back and rump ; upper tail-coverts 

 blackish, broadly edged with ashy grey ; tail as in the male ; lesser 

 wing-coverts ashy brown like the back ; median and greater coverts 

 blackish brown, edged with ashy and broadly tipped with white : 

 bastard-wing blackish ; primary-coverts, quills, and tail as in the 

 male, excepting that the white edges to the inner secondaries are 

 narrower ; crown of head like the back, the forehead and a broad 

 eyebrow ashy yellow ; lores greyish ; ear-coverts and cheeks pale 

 yellowish, with a dusky line on the upper and lower margins of the 

 ear-coverts ; cheeks and entire under surface of body pale yellow, a 

 little brighter on the abdomen, the under tail-coverts whiter ; sides 

 of the body ashy brown, darker on the sides of the chest, which are 

 more ashy ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white with ashy 

 bases ; quills dusky below, white towards the base of the inner 

 web. Total length 6'6 inches, culmen 0-65, wing 3-15, tail 2-85, 

 tarsus 0-95. 



It is extremely difficult, unless the series has been very carefully 

 noted by the collector, to trace the sequence of changes of plumage 

 in this species ; and when in winter dress its resemblance to M. ci- 

 treola is so close that I am not aware of any character which 

 could be said to be absolutely distinctive of the two species. Mr. 



