134 BRITISH BIRDS. 



side is also slightly darker. From T. t. horealis they also 

 differ by their much larger bills, and from T. t. hirtensis in 

 the darker colour of their plumage, especially on the under 

 surface. 



I have, therefore, named this very distinct form 

 Troglodytes troglodytes zetlandicus on p. 777 of my book. 

 The specimens which I examined, including the type, 

 are in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. 



The Wrens from the Hebrides and from Pair Isle have 

 been a great puzzle to me. They stand between T. t. 

 troglodytes, the common British Wren, and T. t. zetlandicus , 

 and some seem to me to be indistinguishable from some 

 T. t. horealis. The individual variation being rather 

 great, and the specimens which I have been able to examine 

 not very numerous, I have deferred judgment about 

 this form, hoping that I or someone else may in future 

 be able to study a better series. It must also be 

 remembered, that it is quite possible that in autumn 

 single specimens may be blown southwards from one 

 island to another, and, therefore, a series obtained in the 

 breeding-season should be examined. 



I may here remark that there does not appear to exist 

 an adequate series of T. t. hirtensis in any museum, 

 while series of eggs are to be found in many collections, 

 and clutches are constantly offered for sale in dealers' 

 shops and figure in many of Stevens' sale lists. We are 

 now sufficiently aware that the eggs from St. Kilda are 

 larger, and nothing is gained by the collecting of larger 

 series of clutches, while the few skins in museums are 

 mostly from spirits, and a good description can hardly 

 be made from them. I have only been able to measure 

 three adult birds in fairly good condition. 



The British Dippers. 



The British, and especially Irish, Dippers have often 

 puzzled ornithologists. Dresser, in 1874, said that he 

 had not been able to examine an English-killed specimen 

 of the Scandinavian form (which he called C. melano- 



