206 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



MOTACILLA ALBA 



84. Motacilla alba lugubris Temm.— THE PIED WAGTAIL. 



MoTACiLLA Lugubris Temminck, Man. d'Orn., i, p. 253 (1820 — Partim. 



Temminck mentions specimens from Russia, Crimea, France, Egj-pt, 



Hungary. Restricted typical locality : France).* 



Motacilla Yarrellii Gould, B. Europe, List of Plates in Vol. 11, p. 2 (1837 



— Great Britain). 



Motacilla lugubris Temminck, Yarreil, i, p. 538 ; Saunders, p. 121. 



M. a. lugubris Temm., Hartert, Brit. B., i, p. 212. 



Description (Plate 8). — Adidt male. Winter. — Fore-head and 

 fore-part of crown white ; rest of crown, nape, hind-neck, and 

 rump glossy jet-black ; mantle, scapulars and back same, but 

 mixed with varying amount of dark grey ; upper tail-coverts 

 same but outer feathers broadly edged white on outer webs ; 

 lores, over eyes, ear-coverts, chin, extending down centre of sides 

 of neck, throat, lower-breast, belly and under tail-coverts white ; 

 a black crescentic band on upper-breast extending to fore-part 

 of sides of neck but not reaching black of nape ; flanks dark grey 

 mixed with black ; axillaries white with dark grey centres ; tail- 

 feathers glossy jet-black, central pair narrowly fringed white on 

 outer webs, outer pair mostly white with three-quarters of inner 

 web edged black, next (penultimate) pair same but with wider 

 edging of black which reaches shaft at base and with varying 

 amount of black on outer web ; primaries black, fringed white, 

 narrowly on outer webs and tips, broadly on inner webs ; 

 secondaries same but inner feathers more broadly fringed white 

 on outer webs, innermost feathers browner, not so black ; primary- 

 coverts brown-black narrowly fringed and tipped white ; greater 

 coverts brown-black broadly fringed and tipped white ; median 

 coverts brown-black with long white tips ; lesser coverts black, 

 usually mixed with varying amount of grey. This plumage is 

 acquired by complete moult in Aug. -Nov. Summer. — The body- 

 feathers and often lesser wing-coverts, some innermost secondaries, 



* The diagnosis agrees well with our English bird, which is of course 

 the one occurring in France, and there is no reason to reject the name. 

 Temminck mentions as localities Russia, France, Egypt, Crimea, Hungary. 

 He says that the specimens sent by Pallas from Russia agree perfectly with 

 those killed in France. He also says that the new species interbreeds with the 

 White Wagtail and produces specimens " tapires " with black and grey. 

 " Tapires " must be an error for " tapisses." Now, of the localities 

 mentioned by Temminck black-backed Wagtails are only found in France, 

 and not in Russia, Egypt, Crimea or Hungary. What the birds were which 

 looked like the French ones we do not therefore know, but they might 

 possibly have been specimens of M. a. lugens from east Siberia ; as there 

 is thus only one possible locality in the original description, and as the 

 diagnosis fits the Pied Wagtail entirely, we have to restrict the name lugubris 

 to " France," and need not alter this name on the plea that what Temminck 

 described was an undefinable mixture — in fact he only added wrong localities, 

 which was often done by older authors. — E.H. 



