138 BRITISH BIRDS. 



hind-neck and sides of neck dark slatj-grev; the lores, 

 feathers round the eje and ear-coverts jet-black, and the 

 cheeks and entire throat white. The eye-stripe is absent. 

 The first example of this form obtained in England is the 

 one figured by Gould and mentioned in a footnote in 

 Yarrell.'^ It was shot near Penzance and was in Mr. 

 Rodd's collection. It is said to differ from the typical 

 M. flava cinereocajnUa by having- a short wdiite sujjerciliary 

 streak behind the ear only. 



A second specimen was obtained at Shering-ham in 

 Norfolk " about May, 1842." It was originally recorded by 

 Messrs. Fisher and Gurney in the "Zoologist" as the Grey- 

 headed Wagtail, M. negleda, but on further examination 

 by Mr. Giu-ney it has been assigned to the present form.f 



Returning once more to the Blue-headed Wagtail (ilf . 

 jiava flava), a critical examination of the records reveals 

 the fact that it has occurred more frequently in Sussex 

 than in all of the other counties of England and Scotland 

 taken together. Its visits to the south-eastern corner of 

 England indeed are now so frequent and regular that, as 

 I pointed out at the meeting of the British Ornithologists' 

 Club on November 19th, 1902, this sjjecies must now be 

 regarded as a regular spring visitor in small numbers to 

 that area. It arrives from 20th April to 1st May, and a 

 few pairs remain to breed. In autumn the return flight, 

 consisting chiefl}' of young birds, moves along the coast 

 about the third week of August, in company with the pied 

 and common Yellow Wagtails. + 



It seems highly improbable that Sussex alone should be 

 so favoured by this species, and I am strongly of opinion 

 that it is very generally overlooked. The females and 

 young birds of the 3^ear require to be very thoroughly 

 known before one can be certain of recognizing them in 

 the field, but when once the characteristics are known 

 careful observation with a good glass is only necessary for 



* " Birds of Great Eritan,"Pt. XXII.; "British Birds," Yol. I., pp. 559— 560. 



t " Handbook of British Birds," Ed. ii., p. 364; 'Zoologist," 1846, p. 1310; 

 Gurnej, " Trans. Xorf. Nat. Soc," 1876, p. 226. 



+ "Bulletin B.O.C.," Vol. xiii., p. 20 



