species of Passerine Birds. 495 



given by Mr. Jerdon (B. Ind. ii. p. 209) for S. affinis. There 

 is one constant distinction between them and our bird — the 

 outer tail-feathers are nearly all pure white, and the others tipped 

 with pure white. In European specimens the white is of much 

 less extent, and is never pure, but rather greyish white. Pales- 

 tine examples agree with British, not with Indian, in this respect. 



In my notice of the occurrence of Sylvia melanopo(jon, Temm., 

 in India {supra, p. ?)01), A7nnicoIa 7neIanopoff on, Gavh., is ^ivinied 

 as a synonym. But M. Gerbe^s generic name cannot be allowed 

 to stand, as it has been appropriated for many years to a well- 

 known genus of fluviatile mollusks. If the species be entitled to 

 generic distinction, Mr. Gray's name of Lusciniola must be ac- 

 cepted, though I cannot with him include in the same group 

 L. lanceolata, Temm., whicii seems to me an undoubted typical 

 Locustella. 



For a similar reason Mr. Hume's genus Jerdonia {loc. cit.) 

 must be rejected, as it too has been already appropriated to a mol- 

 luscan group. 



I may take this opportunity of correcting a mistake in syn- 

 onymy by Dr. von Heuglin in his very useful ' Ornithologie 

 Nordost Afrikas.' He there gives (i. pp. 303, 304) the name of 

 Sylvia melunocephala minor to the East- African and Syrian 

 forms, which he makes equivalent to Curruca momus, H. and 

 Ehr.,= C. luctuosa, Brehm (Vogelf. p. 229) , = Melizophilus nigri- 

 capillus, Cab. (Mus. Hein. i. p. 35). But he also identifies 

 it with my Sylvia bowmani (Ibis, 1867, p. 85), from which 

 it is very clearly distinct. Dr. von Heuglin must have over- 

 looked my diagnosis, or he could not have thus united the 

 form with the well-known bird described by Hemprich and 

 Ehrenberg, which occurs through all Syria and Egypt, while S. 

 bowmani is confined to the Dead- Sea basin, and is only known 

 by two specimens. 



There is a new Saxicola described in the same work (p. 350), S. 

 finschi, which I am unable to discriminate from S. libanotica; the 

 latter is not included by Dr. von Heuglin, though I have obtained 

 it from Egypt. Of course without a type-specimen by me, it is 

 impossible to dogmatize; and the imperfect condition in which 

 Hemprich and Ehrenberg's work has been left renders the identi- 

 fication of many of their species almost hopeless. 



