384 Mr. W. E. Brooks's Stray 



sides of the face are white, with a few small grey streaks, and 

 there is none of the fulvous tinge sometimes observable on 

 the cheeks of L. exilipes. 



This Greenland bird may be briefly described as a white 

 bird streaked with slate-grey. I noticed one narrow grey- 

 brown streak on the central lower tail-coverts, and the supposed 

 female is more boldly streaked on the lower tail-coverts. With 

 reference to the example of L. hornemanni killed at Whit- 

 burn in England, Mr. Hancock writes : — '' I have examined 

 the Whitburn bird, and it has a streak or two on the under 

 tail-coverts ; and another specimen like it, which I had from 

 Seebohm, is also streaked on the under tail-coverts." All 

 the specimens I have seen of L. linaria and of L. rufescens 

 are boldly streaked on the lower tail-coverts. As far as I 

 have ascertained at present, the spotless under tail-coverts of 

 L. exilipes form a good distinction, apart from the general 

 white tone of the bird. By any one who has even a moderate 

 power of observation it should never be confounded wdth L. 

 linaria. Both ends of the bird strongly proclaim distinctness. 



Mr. Mcllwraith^s female L. hornemanni strongly resembles 

 the male ; but the slate-grey predominates, while in tlie male 

 the white predominates. It appears also to be of the size of 

 an ordinary male L. linaria. I could not take any measure- 

 ments, as they were in a large closed glass case with numerous 

 other small birds. 



To separate L. exilipes from L. hornemanni we have there- 

 fore : — (1) superior size of the latter; (2) the want of the 

 broad white edgings to tertials and tail-feathers ; (3) larger 

 bill ; (4) longer wing. I forgot to mention that my male 

 L. exilipes has a wing exactly 3 inches long. 



When in good plumage I do not think there need be any 

 difficulty in separating these four species of Linota. We 

 hear a great deal about " intermediate forms,'"' said to bridge 

 over between species ; but it is a curious thing that I have 

 not come across anything of the kind, and I have worked 

 amongst small birds as much as most men. The fact is, men 

 strongly imbued with Darwinian principles are not in a fit 

 state of mind to distinguish one species from another, and 



