Mr. II. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 347 



and M . alba, or, as the Indian bird is generally called, M . duk- 

 hunensis. The remaining species, M. luzoniensis, inhabits the 

 eastern plains of India in winter. S winhoe has clearly pointed 

 out (P. Z. S. 1870, p. 120) that this bird has no right to the 

 name luzoniensis. Scopoli founds his name upon " La Ber- 

 geroiiette a collier de Tile de Lu9on" of Sonnerat, in his 

 ' Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee/ vol. i. p. 61, pi. 29. Sonnerat 

 describes the colour of the back as "gris de cendre/'and figures 

 a Wagtail with a grey back, very white wing-coverts, a white 

 forehead, cheeks, and throat, but with a gorget of black on 

 the breast confluent with the black on the neck and head. 

 It might represent a female of M. hodgsoni, or a male of M. 

 per sonata in winter plumage ; but inasmuch as no white Wag- 

 tail has been recorded since from this locality, I think we are 

 perfectly justified in cutting the Gordian knot by ignoring 

 the name altogether. 



M. alboides is in summer a black-backed Wagtail with a 

 black breast. The forehead is white, and a white band sepa- 

 rates the black on the head and neck from the black on the 

 breast, as in M. alba ; but besides the black back, it differs 

 from M. alba in never having the throat black. In winter 

 the back is more or less grey, but the shoulders remain 

 black. 



I think there can be no doubt whatever that this bird is 

 the Motadlla alba, var. paradoxa of Schrenck, who figures it 

 and describes it as breeding in the Amoor-land. 



MOTACILLA LUGENS, Temm. et Schl. 



Motadlla lugens, Temm. et Schl. Fauna Japonica, Aves, 

 p. 60, pi. 25 (1850). 



Motadlla japonica, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, p. 309; P. Z. S. 

 1863, p. 275. 



After having just stated that the amount of white on the 

 wing of a Wagtail cannot be considered a specific charac- 

 ter, it may appear somewhat paradoxical to assert that the 

 principal and most trustworthy character of this bird is the 

 great amount of white on the wing. In this species, however, 

 it is not only the wing-coverts, but the secondaries and some of 





