Lanius excubitor and its Allies. 379 



He concludes by saying that "there are no sharp characteristics 

 to enable one to discriminate the two forms with certainty, 

 and therefore it is more correct to consider Lanius major and 

 Lanius borealis as local races of the same species, the specific 

 characters of which are not yet developed/' and he therefore 

 called the Siberian form Lanius borealis sibiricus. In this 

 view I fully concur with the Professor, but I do not consider 

 the differences sufficient to permit one to accord the Siberian 

 form even subspecific rank, and I therefore refer it to Lanius 

 borealis, Vieill. 



Another Asiatic Shrike allied to Lanius borealis is Latiius 

 mollis, Eversmann, which inhabits the Altai range and Tur- 

 kestan, and has been recorded by Mr. Seebohm from Arch- 

 angel. This species diflers from L. borealis in having the 

 upper and under tail-coverts sandy buff, and is even browner 

 in tinge of colour than tawny American specimens of that 

 form. I have seen only two specimens of this Shrike, both 

 of Avhich are in the collection of Mr. Seebohm, and I cannot 

 therefore give a decided opinion from personal examination 

 as to the validity of this species ; but Professor Bogdanoff, who 

 has had the best opportunity of judging, describes the adult 

 male, female, and the nestling, and states (/. s. c.) that he has 

 no doubt as to its being a perfectly good species differing in 

 all plumages from its allies. So far as I can judge from the 

 two specimens I have examined, I am decidedly inclined to 

 endorse this opinion. 



There are two more species of Grey Shrike which have 

 been described as inhabiting the Eastern Palaearctic region, 

 viz. Lanius sphenocercus and Lanius seebohmi. The former 

 of these is easily recognizable by its somewhat larger size and 

 very long graduated tail. It is otherwise like L. excubitor, 

 but has the two bars on the wing large and confluent as in 

 Lanius leucopterus, and the underparts are white with a rosy 

 tinge. 



Lanius seebohmi, of which only the type is known, is a 

 doubtful species, and until more specimens of it are obtained 

 it is premature to hazard an opinion as to its specific validity. 

 It differs in having a narrow frontal black band, much less 



