Letters, Announcements, ifc. 293 



Simla, 14 Feb., 1870. 

 Sir, — A week ago I received the volume of ' The Ibis' for 

 1868, and observe that Lieut. Beavan (pp. 496, 497) proposes 

 for the Himalayan race of Dicrurus longicaudatus the name of 

 Buchanga waldeni. The species thus characterized by my friend 

 is, as you rightly imagine {loc. rit. note), my D. himalaijanus 

 [torn. cit. p. 200) — the most common bird that we have in the 

 Himalaya, and abundant at this place and elsewhere. 



I am, &c., 



Robert C. Tytler, Col. 



Sir, — In a letter addressed to you by Mr. Hume [antea, 

 p. 142) that gentleman announces the existence in India of 

 two species of yellow- headed Wagtails. Not having seen the 

 examples on which this statement is founded, I shall not ven- 

 ture an opinion as to its accuracy ; but, with your permission, 

 I wish to make the following observations on the general sub- 

 ject:— 



1. Motacilla aureocapilla is Lesson's title, not Vieillot's. 



2. Lesson's diagnosis (Tr. d'Orn. p. 422) contains no cha- 

 racter inconsistent or conflicting with the characters given by 

 Pallas of M. citreola. 



3. Lesson gives no measurements. 



4. Bonaparte and Mr. G. R. Gray identified M. aureocapilla, 

 Lesson, with M. citreola, Pallas. 



5. Dr. Pucheran, after a critical comparison of Lesson's type- 

 specimens in the Paris Museum (A.rch. du Mus. vii. p. 377), 

 pronounced it to be the same as M. citreola, Pall. 



6. An adult male of M. citreola. Pall., from the shores of 

 Lake Baikal, in my collection, has the wing 3*5 in. long. 



If two distinct specimens of yellow-headed Wagtails do in- 

 habit India, it will have to be determined whether either be- 

 longs to Pallas's species, and, if either, which of the two. These 

 facts being ascertained, it must then be decided to which of the 

 two Mr. Hodgson's title of Budytes calcaratus applies ; and if 

 an untitled species remains, it will require a new name. Judg- 

 ing from the length of the w^ing in Mr. Hume's alleged B. 

 citrcolus (Pall.), it must be distinct from the Siberian bird, 



