402 Canon Tristram on the Eighth Volume 



Abyssinian forms, in two or three specimens, appear to run 

 into each other; L. smithli, a very marked form of Lanius, 

 follows as a subspecies, while L. fuscatus, so closely allied 

 to L. schach, enjoys full specific dignity. A like incon- 

 sistency is shown in the case of L. cristatus and L. svper- 

 ciliosus, the latter being simply a more brightly coloured 

 form, with no specific distinction. As to its distribution, 

 we are told that it winters in Java, Malacca, and the Philip- 

 pines, and in spring migrates northwards through China, 

 breeding in Japan, Mantchooria, and Mongolia south of 

 Lake Baikal. I cannot discover the authority for these state- 

 ments, which are directly contrary to the very exhaustive 

 account of this Shrike by Lord Tweeddale (Ibis, 1867, 

 pp. 218-220). The only specimens in the British Museum 

 arc from Malacca. A startling phenomenon in geographical 

 distribution is presented in the case of L. speculiger-vs, which 

 is stated to be found in Dauria, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and 

 Abyssinia (!). The authority for this last locality seems to 

 be a specimen from King M^tesa's country, which is not 

 exactly Abyssinia, according to our ideas. But the explana- 

 tion is, that the writer has confused the North- Asiatic bird 

 with Hartlaub's L. gubei'nator, from Equatorial Africa, now 

 before us, a perfectly distinct species, which is altogether 

 ignored. The description of L. speculifferus is quoted from 

 Finsch ; but we have not been able to discover where he has 

 described it. While on the subject of nomenclature, we 

 may express surprise that Dr. Gadow has selected tigrinus as 

 the name for L. magnirostris, having apparently overlooked 

 the unanswerable article of Lord Tweeddale (Ibis, 1867, 

 pp. 221 et seq.). 



Turning to the Nuthatches, we may remark that Sitta 

 syriaca is stated to occur in Palestine, while S. neumayeri is 

 assigned to the north, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and North 

 Persia. It is this latter alone which has been found in 

 Palestine ; but I have repeatedly shot both forms on the same 

 rocks, and once by the same shot, in the Taurid. The 

 diflPerence between the two so-called species is merely size. 

 After finding them recognized as distinct species, it is sur- 



