THE WESTERN DESERT-WHEATEAR. 431 



east and west coastal routes (Channel to northern isles) and east 

 and west coasts Ireland, third week April to end first week June 

 (early dates April 1, 8-10.) Similar movements in reverse direction 

 autumn from last few days August (early dates Tarbatness Lt. 

 (E. Ross), Aug. 5, 1913, Pentland Skerries (Orkney). Aug. 7, 1912. 

 Bardsey Lt. (Carnarvon) Aug. 15, 1909) to second week Oct., 

 stragglers to early Nov. (late dates Barra (O.H.) Nov. 17 and 18, 

 1911, Clyde, Nov. 30, 1913). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Greenland and north-east America west 

 of Davis Strait to Labrador, and apparently Iceland, though a 

 series from there should be re-examined, as they aj)pear to be, 

 at least partly, intermediate. Migrates through north-west Africa, 

 Canaries, and Azores to Senegambia, in America to New York, New 

 Brunswick, Ontario, Bermudas, j)robably Colorado and Louisiana, 

 accidental Cuba. 



CENANTHE DESERTI 



178. CEnanthe deserti homochroa (Tristram) * — THE 

 WESTERN DESERT-WHEATEAR. 



Saxicola homochroa Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59 (" Hab. in Sahara 



Tunitana." The type, a female, obtained in the Souf, near boundary 



of Algeria and Tunisia. Tristram believed the female to be a different 



species from the male, but the name must be adopted as it clearly 



refers to the western Saharan race). 



^Saxicola deserti (Temnainck), Yarrell, in, p. viii ; S. deserti Riippell, 



Saunders, p. 25 (? part). 



CEnanthe deserti deserti (Temm.), Hand-List Brit. B., p. 80 (1912). 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Crown and nape pale greyish 

 sand-colour, feathers tipped greyish ; mantle, scapulars and back 

 same but richer sand-colour ; rump and upper tail-coverts whitish- 

 buff ; stripe over and behind eye buffish-white ; lores, ear-coverts, 

 whole chin and throat and sides of neck extending towards nape 

 black, feathers slightly tipped white ; breast and flanks sandy-buff ; 

 centre of belly and under tail-coverts buffish-white ; under wing- 

 coverts and axiUaries black tipped white ; all tail-feathers with 

 rather more than basal third white and rest black narrowly tipped 

 buffish-white (black measured from tip of feathers to its farthest 

 extension basally is from 35 to 43 mm.) ; primaries, outer webs 

 and tij^s black narrowly edged and tipped whitish, inner webs 

 paler and browner edged white, increasing in breadth at bases ; 



* I have re-examined the female from Holderness, formerly in Mr. J. H. 

 Gumey's collection and now at the Tring Museum, and find it to be of the 

 sandy-coloured Saharan race. When I first examined this bird in 19(18 I 

 had not the material to show that €E. d. homochroa was separable from 

 <E. d. deserti. — E.H. 



