282 SYLVIAIbE. 



Greenland by Fabricius and others. Captain James Ross, 

 in the Natural History appended to the narrative of the 

 last Voyage to the Arctic Regions, says of the Wheat ear, 

 " One of these little birds was observed flying round the 

 ship in Felix Harbour, 70 N. 91 53' W., on the 2nd of 

 May 1830, and was found dead alongside the next morn- 

 ing : having arrived before the ground was sufficiently un- 

 covered to enable it to procure its food, it had perished 

 from want. It is the only instance of this bird having 

 been met with in Arctic America, in the course of our 

 several expeditions to those regions." 



The Wheatear is abundant on the European Continent, 

 and very numerous on the northern shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean in spring, and again in autumn. M. Temminck 

 says it is found in Dalmatia and the Morea ; it is found 

 also in Sicily and Crete ; Mr. Strickland observed it at 

 Smyrna in April ; and the Zoological Society have re- 

 ceived specimens from Keith Abbott, Esq., obtained at 

 Trebizond and Erzeroom, the most eastern localities, as far 

 as I am aware, that have yet been quoted for this species. 



The adult male in the breeding season has the beak, the 

 space between the beak and the eye, a small line under the 

 eye, and the ear-coverts, black ; the irides dark brown ; 

 the space above the base of the beak, a narrow line over 

 the eye, and a small space above the ear-coverts, white ; 

 the head, back, and scapulars, of a fine light grey ; wing- 

 coverts and quill-feathers almost black : upper tail-coverts 

 white ; the two middle tail-feathers, with the proximal 

 third, white, the distal two-thirds black ; all the other 

 tail-feathers have the proximal two-thirds white, the distal 

 one-third black : chin and throat buff colour ; belly, flanks, 

 vent, and under tail-coverts, pale buffy white ; legs, toes, 

 and claws, black. 



