250 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



74. Red-throated Thrush [KOTHHALS-DROSSEL]. 

 TURDUS RUFICOLLIS, Pallas. 



Turdus ruficollis. Naumann, xiii. 316. 



Red-throated Thrush. Dresser, ii. 67. 



Turdus ruficollis. Pallas, Zoog. Eoss.-Asiat. i. 452. 



Of all its far eastern relatives, this beautiful Siberian Thrush 

 has been the rarest visitor to Europe ; besides the example killed 

 here, only two other instances of its actual occurrence appear to be 

 known : one of these was caught in October 1836 in the neighbour- 

 hood of Dresden, while the other was discovered by Altum among 

 other Thrushes in the market at Minister, in November 1866 

 (Journal fur Ornith. 1866, p. 423 ; 1867, p. 109). The example 

 found in Heligoland, a young bird in its first autumn plumage, was 

 shot at the end of November 1843, on the open and freely exposed 

 plain of the Upper Plateau. 



In this example all the upper parts, the ear-coverts, and sides of 

 the neck, are of a dingy dark olive grey (olivengrau), with some 

 admixture of earth colour (erdfarben) ; the whole coloration 

 especially on the rump somewhat approaching that of a Song 

 Thrush in faded plumage. The fore-neck from the bill and ear- 

 coverts downwards is shot with dingy buff colour (rostgelb); the sides 

 of the upper breast clouded with dull olivaceous brown (olivenbraun); 

 on the sides of the breast and on the flanks, the colour is a faded 

 light olive grey (olivengrau), each feather having a slightly darker, 

 much blurred marking along its middle. A dull, very faint eye-streak 

 commences above the eye, and terminates above the ear-coverts. 

 Several rows of blackish brown spots extend downwards along the 

 neck, and a few small, somewhat blurred triangular spots are diffusely 

 scattered upon the upper breast. The flight-feathers and rectrices 

 are somewhat darker than the back, the former having very faint, 

 less pale edges, and only a few of the great covert-feathers have dull 

 whitish tips. The lower wing-coverts are somewhat faintly rust- 

 coloured (matt rostfarben), neither ferruginous (rostroth) nor buff 

 colour (rostgelb), but of a tint intermediate between these two shades. 

 The tail forms the chief mark of distinction between this species 

 and a young Black-throated Thrush, being in the latter blackish 

 brown, without a trace of rust colour, while in the present species, 

 in the inner webs of its feathers, especially those of the outer- 

 most pair, there is a very strong admixture of rust colour ; this 

 difference becomes remarkably striking on holding, side by side 

 with an example of the present species, a Black-throated Thrush of 



