588 Mr. J. A. Bucknill on (he 



pressure of other work, unable to pay so much attention to 

 this group as we had hoped, and, consequently, collected but 

 few specimens. Mr. Baxendale sent up, in the spring of 

 1909, several specimens from the Papho district which 

 baffled both of us, and a casual examination of the skins 

 in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington 

 completed, if possible, my doubts. I haA^e therefore re- 

 stricted my observations to apparently indubitable facts, 

 and, at a later date, hope to be able to work out the 

 matter in a somewhat fuller manner. With regard to 

 the present species, I do not know if its description by 

 Homeyer as distinct in its Cyprus form is sound, but, in 

 view of its habits, I should, so far as I can judge, doubt any 

 claim to difference from S. morio. 



However, it is, without any doubt, by far the commonest 

 Chat in the island, and I have found it at all altitudes. As 

 Saxicola morio (Eastern Pied Chat), Lord Lilford calls it 

 the " characteristic Chat of Cyprus " ; Miiller had large 

 numbers of specimens and clutches of eggs, the latter taken 

 from April the 10th to June the 1st — he names it S. leucomela 

 and gives a lengthy description of the eggs ; Guillemard calls 

 it " extremely common " and obtained several nests with eggs ; 

 Miss Bate refers to it as " ubiquitous " ; and Glaszner sent 

 many specimens to Madarasz obtained from spring till late 

 autumn. Horsbrugh and Mr. C. Noble obtained plenty of 

 nests and eggs this year in April and May. There seems to 

 be a local idea that this Chat is permanently resident in 

 the island, but all I can at present state is that my earliest 

 recorded date is February the 23rd and my latest October 

 the 9th, from which I judge that it is mainly a summer visitor. 

 Mr. Baxendale, who has paid more attention to these birds 

 than any one else, is of a similar opinion. 



47. Saxicola monacha Riipp. 



The only record of the Hooded Wheatear from the island 

 appears to be that of Lord Lilford, who saw two examples, 

 of which he obtained one, an adult male, near Larnaca, on 

 May the 5th, 1875. 



