THE WESTERN BLACK-EARED WHEATEAR. 



435 



(ENANTHE HISPANICA* 



180. CEnanthe hispanica hispanica (L.) THE WESTERN 

 BLACK-EARED WHEATEAR. 



MOTACILLA HISPANICA. Linngeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 186 (1758 



" Hispania." Typical locality : Gibraltar). 



Saxicola stapazina (Vieillot), Yarrell, in, p. viii ; Saunders, p. 23 ; 

 S. stapazina (Linnaeus) nee Vieillot, id., Brit. B., i, p. 6 ; S. occidental, 

 id., I.e., p. 7 ; S. h. hispanica, Hartert, op.c., iv, p. 131. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult 

 male. Winter. Fore- 

 head buff ; crown, nape 

 and mantle rich foxy- 

 buff ; scapulars black with 

 long rich buff tips and 

 varying amount of buff 

 on inner webs and often 

 some inner feathers with 

 no black ; back, rump 

 and upper tail-coverts 

 white tinged cream ; nar- 

 row line from nostrils to 

 lores, lores, narrow line 

 over eye, broad line under 

 eye and ear -coverts jet- 

 black ; chin and upper- 

 throat whitish-buff or jet- 

 black with feathers nar- 

 rowly tipped white (N.B. 

 in black - throated ex- 

 amples of this form black of sides of throat does not extend so far 

 down as the black of ear -coverts) ; lower throat pale buff ; breast 

 rich buff ; rest of under-parts pale buff ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts black, narrowly tipped white ; tail-feathers narrowly tipped 

 white, central pair black with only basal quarter or third white, rest 

 mostly white with about distal quarter black, t outermost feathers 

 with more black which often extends to half length of feather on 

 outer webs ; wing-feathers jet-black with narrow pale buff tips 

 and edges to outer webs and whitish edges to inner webs, inner 

 secondaries with broader and deeper buff tips and edgings to outer 



* Clearly described in 1758 as Mot. hispanica. As the black-throated 

 and white-throated birds (stapazina and aurita of former times) are only 

 dimorphisms of the same species, hispanica takes the place of both. E.H. 



J- Black varies in extent and is often divided and broken up by white 

 and occasionally some inner feathers have only small black marks or no black 

 at all. Black measured from tip of feather to its farthest extension basally 

 is in outermost feather 20-32 mm. and in 4th feather from outer no black to 

 20 mm. 



2 F2 



The Western Black-eared Wheatear (CEnanthe h. 



hispinica). Arlult male. Showing distribution of 



black in tail as compared with other species. 



