100 Mr. H. Seebohm on the 



IX. — On the Bullfinches of Siberia mid Japan. 

 By Henry Seebohm. 

 In 1871 (JourD. f. Orn. p. 318) Cabanis describedanew species 

 of Bullfinch from Lake Baikal ; in 1872 ( Journ.f . Orn. p. 31G) 

 he named it Pyrrhula cineracea, and in 1874 (Journ. f. Orn. 

 pi. i.) he figured the male and female. There is a great deal 

 of white on the wing-bar of this bird^ but the cheeks and 

 ear-coverts are very grey. In 1876 Mr. Dresser, in his ' Birds 

 of Europe^ (iv. p. 100)^ devoted a paragraph to the new 

 species, containing a brief diagnosis and a survey of its range. 

 He appears to have examined several skins — one from Dauria, 

 which he informs us was in his own collection, and several, 

 which he states were from Japan, in the Swinhoe collection. 

 There are, however, no skins of this species in the Swinhoe 

 collection from Japan, nor has any collector obtained it from 

 any of the Jaj)anese islands ! Mr. Dresser's further statement 

 that the Japanese skins " are as a rule a little more dull in 

 general coloration than those from Siberia,^^ though not 

 strictly accurate if applied to the four females of Pyrrhula 

 rosacea from Yesso in the Swinhoe collection, is evidently 

 intended to apply to them. Compared with females of 

 P. cineracea they are not " as a rule '' but invariably, not 

 " a little more " but very much broAvner both on the upper 

 and underparts. The statement that " i\\& male resembles 

 the female, but is much clearer grey on the upper as well 

 as on the underparts " also favours the assumption that 

 the remarks apply to females of P. rosacea, as true females 

 of P. cineracea are scarcely less grey than males on the 

 upper parts, but are absolutely brown, instead of grey, on 

 the underparts. The assertion that the female of P. cine- 

 racea " very closely resembles the female of Pyrrhula major, 

 differing only in having the outer web of the innermost 

 pi'imary (no doubt a misprint for secondary) grey and not 

 red," somewhat increases the difficulty. In the first place 

 the females of P. major are as often without the red as 

 with it; and in the second place females of P. major are 

 almost always distinguishable from females of P. cineracea 

 by the much greater amount of brown on their mantles, and 



