182 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 



STURNUS VULGARIS, Linn. 



Mr. Kibort sent me three skins of the Kras-no-yarsk' Star- 

 ling. In the P. Z. S. 1878, p. 712, Dr. Finsch has described 

 a new species of Starling from the Chinese High Altai as 

 Sturnus poltaratskyi, and has incorrectly identified the skin I 

 brought from the Yen-e-say' with it. He appears to be right 

 in advocating the distinctness of S. humii, Gould (fig. nee 

 descript.), from S. nitens, Hume, which latter species was sub- 

 sequently renamed (on the ground that the name S. nitens 

 had previously been applied to the Common Starling by 

 Brehm) S. ambiguus, Hume, and S. humii, Brooks. Finsch, 

 however, is wrong in identifying his species with S. humii, 

 Gould. After carefully examining all the skins in the British 

 Museum and in Dresser's and my own collections, I have 

 come to the following conclusions : 



Sturnus purpurascens, Gould, may at once be recognized 

 by its bronze-purple scapulars and wing-coverts, which in the 

 other species are green. The forehead and ear-coverts appear 

 also to be always bronze-purple. The fore neck is always 

 green, and the breast and belly purple, shading into bronze 

 on the flanks. The remaining parts appear to be subject to 

 variation. The crown, nape, and throat are usually mingled 

 bronze and green, occasionally pure bronze, and occasionally 

 pure green. The upper parts, from the hind neck downwards, 

 are purple in some skins from Eastern Asia Minor, which 

 may be taken as the extreme form. In others, however, from 

 the same locality, and from the Altai mountains and North 

 Persia, these parts are green, in which plumage they are the 

 S. poltaratskyi of Finsch. In the same localities, however, 

 in Asia Minor, in Yarkand, and in North-west India, every 

 intermediate form occurs ; so that the probability is that the 

 difference is due to age or individual variation. Gould's type 

 is one of these intermediate forms. 



Sturnus vulgaris, Linn., may at once be recognized by its 

 green scapulars and wing-coverts. The ear-coverts appear 

 also to be always green. The fore neck is always a reddish 

 purple, and the breast and belly green, shading into bluish 

 purple on the flanks. The crown, nape, and throat are sub- 



