THE REDSTART. 79 



place here. I shall therefore merely ob- 

 serve that it may be distinguished from the 

 Common Redstart by the sooty-black colour of 

 the breast and belly, which parts in the other 

 are orange -brown, and that it generally ar- 

 rives about the first week in November, and 

 remains until the end of March or beginning 

 of April. 



The origin of the specific name "tithys" 

 seems to be somewhat doubtful, although seve- 

 ral ornithologists have attempted an explanation. 

 Hemprich and Ehrenberg (" Symbolae Phy- 

 sicse," fol. bb), and Von Heuglin (" Orn. Nord- 

 Ost Afrika's," i. p. 334) have referred it to T ?, 

 ultor, with which, however, in the opinion of 

 Professor Newton ("Ann. Mag. Nat. History," 

 Ser. 4, x. p. 227), it can have nothing to do. 

 Professor Newton himself, in the magazine just 

 quoted, and in a footnote to his edition of 

 Yarrell's " History of British Birds/' i. p. 333, 

 writes : " Sylvia tithys (by mistake) Scopoli, 

 Annus I. Historico-naturalis, p. 157 (1769). 

 This naturalist admittedly took his specific 



