Letters, Extracts, and Notes. S85 



Oriolus oriolus (p. 10). "/< has strayed as far as the Faeroes, 

 Azores, and Madeira." The Golden Oriole has been recorded 

 many times from the Canary Islands, where it is sometimes 

 numei'ous in spring, when I have seen it myself. See also 

 Meade- Waldo, Ibis, 1893, p, 191. It is i-ecorded also by 

 Cabrera, Polatzek, and von Thanner. The Canary Islands 

 are about 300 miles farther south than Madeira. 



MoTACiLiiA ALBA (p. 40). "... is jilentiful in the Canary Islands 

 . . . in ivinterj' This is not the case now. It is an irregular 

 winter visitor in small numbers, but regular bird of passage in 

 earl)^ spring. It has never been numerous since 1889-1891, 

 Avhen a phenomenal migration occurred. 



MoTACiLLA BOARULA (p. 41). " . . . rt resident race, M. b. schmitzi, 

 has been described from the Atlantic Islands." This is not the 

 form found in the Canary Islands, which has been named 

 M. h. canariensis Hartert. Opinions vary as to whether 

 M, b, caiiariensis can be separated from M. b. boarula. 



Sylvia communis (p. 65). "/f winters in Africa south to 

 Bamaraland, and in the Canary Islands." There is only 

 one authentic record of the Common Whitethroat having 

 been obtained in the Canary Islands : a bird having been 

 shot by von Thanner in Fuerteventura on the 1st of April, 

 1912, and recorded as Sylvia communis communis. The 

 explanation of this mistake, which has been copied by many 

 authors, is as follows : — Webb & Berthelot in ' Ornithologie 

 Canarienne ' (1810) recorded Sylvia cinerea Lath, as breeding 

 in the islands. This is obviously founded on the female of 

 the Oanarian Spectacled Warbler {Sylvia conspicillata bella), 

 as can be seen by comparing their description with that bird. 

 If this mistake had not been obvious, the bird should have 

 been included under the Lesser Whitethroat, as Sylvia 

 cinerea Lath, is a synonym of *S'. curruca Linn, and not of 

 *S'. commu7iis. It may be argued that Webb &, Berthelot 

 referred to the Spectacled Warbler under the name 

 »S'. passerina. This is certainly the case : Webb & Berthelot 

 referred to the male Spectacled Warbler as S. passerina, 

 considering it to be a different species from the female, 

 which, as already shown, they called S. cinerea Lath. It is 

 worth noting that the name S. passerina is absolutely in- 

 determinable. It has been fixed by certain authors on to the 



