THE WHITE-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT, 477 



as adult female summer and can only be distinguished by buff 

 tips to greater wing-coverts as in first summer male. 



Measurements and structure. — (^ wing 69-74 mm., tail 53-59, 

 tarsus 24-28, bill from skull 14-16 (12 measured). $ wing 65-74. 

 Primaries : 1st 2-8 mm. longer than primary-coverts, 3rd and 4th 

 longest, 5th occasionally equal but usually .5-2 mm. shorter, 2nd 

 4-8 shorter, 6th 2-4 shorter, 7th 5-7 shorter ; 3rd to 5th primaries 

 emarginated outer webs. Secondaries : from tip of longest to 

 tip of longest primary,.^ 10-16 mm., $ 9-14 ; tips somewhat square. 

 Tail slightly rounded, 12 feathers, tips sloped off. Rest of structure 

 as Nightingale. 



Soft parts. — Bill dark browai, base of lower mandible rather 

 paler ; legs and feet yellowish -brown ; iris dark brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — For differences of L. s. gaetkei 

 and L. s. cyanecula see under those forms ; L. s. pallidogularis 

 (Turkestan) is like L. s. svecica but has paler upper-parts and paler 

 blue throat ; Avhile L. s. discessa (Alai) is smaller and still paler ; 

 L. s. rohusta (east Siberia) appears to be larger and darker than 

 L. s. svecica ; L. s. occidentalis (south Russia) is like L. s. cyanecula 

 but with more or less rufous on throat-spot ; L. s. magna (south- 

 west Persia) appears to be larger and to have either no spot or a 

 small white one ; L. s. abbotti (Kashmir, east Turkestan) is stated 

 to be smaller and to have a very small white, or red and white 

 throat -spot. 



Breeding-habits. — Not known to differ in any way from those 

 of Norwegian form. Eggs. — Similar to those of other races. Aver- 

 age of 100 eggs, 18.5x14 mm. Breeding-season. — From mid- June 

 onward. 



Food. — Lynes records diptera (small black flies), also aquatic 

 insects and larvae in stomach. Apparently chiefly insects and 

 their larvae and worms. 



Distribution.— 6Vea^ Britain. — One, Isle of May, September 14, 

 1909 {ut supra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in Sweden, Lapland, north Russia 

 and the tundra of west Siberia, east to the Yenisei (66° N. lat.) ; 

 wintering in north-east Africa and occasionally also western India, 

 and visiting eastern Europe and Transcaspia on passage. 



195. Luscinia svecica cyanecula (Wolf) — THE WHITE- 

 SPOTTED BLUETHROAT. 



Sylvia cyanecula Wolf, in Meyer & Wolf's Taschenb. d. deutech. 

 Vogelk., I, p. 240 (1810— Germany). 



Cyanecula leiicocyana Brehm, Yarrell, i, p. 323 (in text) ; Cyanecula 

 wolfi C. L. Brehm, Saunders, Brit. B., i, p. 7. 



