296 motacillidjE. 



Coloration. Besembles 21. borcalis very closely in general appear- 

 ance at all seasons and with regard to both sexes, but may be recog- 

 nized : — the male by having the crown darker slaty blue, the ear- 

 coverts streaked with white, the chin and a moustachial streak 

 bordering the nearly black cheeks white, and by the presence of a 

 large and pure white supercilium extending from the nostril to the 

 nape : — the female by the darker green of the upper plumage, the 

 presence of white streaks on the ear-coverts, and the large distinct 

 white or pale fulvous supercilium. 



The dimensions and the colour of the soft parts are the same as 

 those of 31. borealis. 



An allied species, 31. taivana, Swinhoe, from China and the 

 Malay peninsula, is extremely likely to be found in Burma. In 

 this species the crown is green, concolorous with the back, and the 

 supercilium, which is very broad and distinct, is bright yellow. A 

 specimen of a "Wagtail in the Hume Collection killed at Howrah, 

 Calcutta, would appear to belong to this species, but unless sup- 

 ported by other specimens it would be premature to pronounce it 

 such. 



Distribution. Occurs in winter in the eastern portion of the 

 Empire. I have examined unmistakable specimens of this species 

 procured at various localities ranging from Shillong on the Khasi 

 hills to the extreme south of Tenasserim. I have also seen it from 

 the Andamans and Nicobars. Hume (S. F. xi, p. 232) gives this 

 species from Cachar and Dibrugarh in Assam. This Wagtail in 

 winter is found in China and the countries to the south and in 

 summer in Siberia. A precisely similar bird is found in Europe 

 and Africa, but it is probable that the two colonies meet on com- 

 mon ground in Northern Asia in summer and take two different 

 routes in the autumn when preceding to their winter-quarters. 



835. Motacilla beema. The Indian Blue-headed Wagtail. 



Motacilla beema, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 90 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. x, 



p. 521, pi. vi, fig. 6. 

 Budytes dubius vel anthoides, Hodqs. in Gray's Zool. 3Iisc. p. 83 



(1844). 

 Budytes flava (Linn.), Brooks, J. A. S. B. xliii, pt. ii, p. 248 ; Hume, 



Cat. ^no. 593 ter (pt.) ; Barnes, Birds Bom. r-. 230. 

 Budytes dubius, llochjs., Brooks, 8. F. vii, p. 139 (1878). 



Coloration. Besembles 31. flava at all seasons and in both sexes, 

 but may be distinguished from that species by the colour of the 

 cheeks, and of the lower half of the ear-coverts, which are white 

 and not dark slaty blue or black, and further by the extreme pale- 

 ness and purity of the bluish grey of the forehead, crown, and nape. 



The dimensions and colour of the soft parts in this species are 

 the same as those of 31. flava. 



Distribution. A winter visitor to the plains of India as far south 

 as Belgaum, ranging from Sind to the longitude of Calcutta. 

 I have examined specimens of this Wagtail from Calcutta itself, 



