Vlli PREFACE. 



New World Passeres which cannot reasonably be supposed 

 to have reached our shores without human agency need not 

 be mentioned. 



LANIUS MAJOE, Pallas. Pallas' s Grey Shrike. To this 

 species or sub-species for it seems possible that it may in- 

 terbreed with Lanius excubitor belong the majority of the 

 * Great Grey ' Shrikes obtained in winter in the British 

 Islands, especially in Scotland. It appears to be a northern 

 or north-eastern form, distributed, from Scandinavia east- 

 ward, over a large portion of Northern Europe and Asia, 

 and distinguishable, when thorough-bred, by its white rump 

 and by the absence of the white bases to the secondaries, 

 while the white bases of the primaries are smaller than in 

 L. excubitor. Roughly speaking, L. major has only one alar 

 bar instead of two. Its range on migration is not yet 

 clearly defined. 



SAXICOLA STAPAZINA (Vieillot). The Black-throated 

 Wheatear. An adult male was shot near Bury in Lan- 

 cashire about the middle of May, 1878, and was exhibited 

 at a meeting of the Zoological Society in the following 

 November (P. Z. S. 1878, pp. 881 and 977). The species is 

 common in Southern Europe and North Africa, and has 

 straggled as far north as Heligoland. 



SAXICOLA DESEETI (Temminck). The Desert Wheatear. 

 A male in autumn plumage was killed near Alloa, Clack- 

 mannanshire, on the 26th of November, 1880, and, having 

 been sent to Mr. J. J. Dalgleish, was forwarded by him for 

 exhibition before the Zoological Society (P. Z. S. 1881, p. 

 453). The species inhabits the southern and eastern sides 

 of the Mediterranean basin, and has twice been known to 

 wander to Heligoland. 



ACROCEPHALUS PALUSTEis (Bechstein). The Marsh War- 

 bler. It is impossible to doubt the authenticity of the 

 examples obtained during the last ten years. Mr. Cecil 

 Smith has shown (Zool. s.s. p. 4713) that it breeds near 

 Taunton, and it is now known to do so annually (Zool. 

 1882, pp. 265, 306) ; it has also nested near Bath. I have 

 examined several fresh-killed birds : also their nests and 



