Letters, Announcements, &<;c. 285 



the ground some ant or beetle. In its various movements and 

 habits it reminds one alternately of the Thrushes^ the Redstarts, 

 and the Fly-catchers. 



>S'. montana may, like <S. copistratci, be consigned to the 

 synonymic limbo. Of course, with such very different- looking 

 specimens before him, Mr. Gould was quite right to characterize 

 them separately ; but with a complete series of transitional forms 

 before me, no doubt as to the identity of these at first sight 

 clearly distinct types can exist. 



We have in India two large species of Pipit, which have been 

 hitherto, as I think, erroneously identified with two Abyssinian 

 species. The one of these, well-figured by Dr. Jerdon in his 

 'Illustrations of Indian Ornithology' as Antkus similis, Jerd., 

 has been subsequently identified by Mr. Blyth as A. cinnamo- 

 meus, Riippell ; this is essentially the form of Southern India, 

 and, so far as I yet know, does not occur north of the Nerbudda. 

 All the large Pipits of this type sent me from localities north of 

 the Nerbudda, as well as all those procured in the Himalayahs 

 where we have found them breeding, are referable to the second 

 species, identified by Mr. Blyth with A. sordidus, Riippell *. 



With all deference to Mr. Blyth's superior knowledge, I sub- 

 mit that he is in error in both these identifications, or else 

 that Riippell failed to describe correctly, either in Latin or in 

 his own German, the birds he had before him. First as to 

 A. cinnainomeus, it will be seen from his descriptions in both 

 languages (Neue Wirbelth. p. 103) that he distinctly sets forth 

 as a leading feature that the upper surface is cinnamon-brown, 

 whereas in A. similis (I have specimens from the Neilgherries, 

 as well as Dr. Jerdon's figure, before me) there is not a trace 

 of cinnamon in the brown of the upper surface. Next Riip- 

 pell insists on the point that both the exterior tail-feathers on 

 each side are yellowish-white, the innermost of the two only 

 having a portion of the inner web dusky-brown ; but in A. 

 similis even the external feather of all has a considerable por- 

 tion of the inner web dusky-brown, the rest being reddish-white, 

 and only a portion of the tip of the second exterior reddish- 

 white. Thus in Riippell's A. cinnamnineus the whole of the 

 * [C'/". Ibis, 18G9, p. 437.— Ei).] 



N. S. VOL. VI. X 



