THE BLACK REDSTART. 463 



known in these islands and Fair Isle as spring and autumn migrant. 

 Breeds in Mull, but not elsewhere in I. Hebrides, but occurs regularly 

 on double passage at Skerryvore. Scarce autumn and rare spring 

 visitor to O. Hebrides and stated to have bred Lewis 1914. Ireland. 

 — -A few pairs used to breed regularly in Wicklow and occasionally 

 in Tyrone, but doubtfully now. Very scarce on migration on 

 south and east coasts and very rare at north and west coasts lights. 



Migrations. — Great Britain. — -Summer-residents begin to arrive 

 end first week April (early dates, March 24-31, April 1-4) ; main 

 arrival early third week April to end third week May. Passage- 

 migration by east and west coast routes (Channel to northern 

 isles) mid-April to mid-June. Occasional stragglers Hebrides 

 and northern isles in March and early April. Summer-residents 

 begin to move south second week July in Scotland, end of month 

 in north England and by mid-Aug. farther south. Emigration 

 from south coast begins last few days Aug. (early date July 10-11, 

 1910, St. Catherine's Lt., I. of Wight) and lasts to first week Oct., 

 stragglers frequent to end of month. Well marked passage-move- 

 ment east coast (northern isles to Chamiel), with evidence of 

 direct oversea immigration so far south as Norfolk coast, second 

 week Sept. to fourth week Oct., with stragglers to end of month. 

 Similar but much smaller and less well marked movement west 

 coast (Hebrides to Channel) same time. (Late dates Fair Isle 

 Nov. 2, Staffs. Nov. 2, 1911, Pentland Skerries (Orkney) Nov. 7, 

 1915.) Ireland. — Small passage-movement east coast, spring. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe from North Cape to Mediterra- 

 nean, but in Spain absent from south, in Italy only in mountains, 

 and in Greece on passage ; Russia with exceptions of Steppes, 

 Tundras and Crimea ; in Siberia to Irkutsk and Lake Baikal. 

 Wintering in west and north-east Africa, casual Madeira. Replaced 

 by allied races in Atlas mountains (requiring confirmation), and in 

 Crimea, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Persia, and Bochara, 

 while a form described from Turkestan is so far doubtful. 



PHCENICURUS OCHRURUS 



190. Phoenicurus ochrurus gibraltariensis* (Gm.) — THE 



BLACK REDSTART. 



MoTAciLLA GIBRALTARIENSIS Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I, 2, p. 987 (1789 — 



Gibraltar). 



Ruticilla titys (Scopoli), Yarrell, i, p. 333 ; Saunders, p. 33. 



Ph. o. gibraltariensis, Hartert, Brit. B., iv, p. 132. 



* The time-honoured name titys is erroneously used for the Black Redstart. 

 Linnaeus described under that name an old female of the Redstart, and not 

 a Black Redstart. Therefore gibraltariensis must be used, and as the Black 

 Redstart of the Caucasus is a subspecies (geographical representative) of it, 

 the name of the latter, being older, becomes the specific name of the Black 

 Redstarts. — E.H. 



