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



vailing form in East Siberia. In America probably only 

 pure-bred L. borealis, Vieill., occurs ; whilst in Asia pure- 

 bred birds of both species, and every possible cross and inter- 

 cross between them, are to be found. 



Another species allied to L. excubitor, Linn., appears to 

 be L. fallacy Finsch, differing in being somewhat smaller in 

 size, darker in the colour of the upper parts, and in having 

 the white on the primaries and secondaries more developed 

 but nevertheless not extending over the entire inside webs of 

 any of the secondaries. Dresser and Sharpe apparently in- 

 clude this species in their L. lahtora, Sykes ; but it does not 

 seem to possess the narrow black frontal line. From skins 

 in the British Museum and in Dresser's collection I conclude 

 the geographical range of L. fallax, Finsch, to be Abyssinia, 

 Nubia, Egypt, Palestine, Euphrates valley, Baluchistan, and 

 the Punjaub, in which latter district it is found in company 

 with L. lahtora } Sykes. I strongly suspect that the " L. leu- 

 copy gius, Hempr/' apud Severtz., will also prove to be L. 

 fallax, Finsch, since the skin which Finsch brought from the 

 Irtish appears to be of the latter species, though larger in size 

 than usual. Since the geographical ranges of all the Grey 

 Shrikes more or less overlap each other, I should not be sur- 

 prised to learn that in many cases where two forms inhabit 

 the same district they habitually interbreed. In that case 

 one of the forms thus interbreeding would have to be de- 

 graded to the rank of a subspecies ; but until intermediate 

 forms are found, we must, I think, consider them as closely 

 allied but distinct species, and not lump three or four of them 

 together, as Sharpe and Dresser appear to me to have done. 



LANIUS SPHENOCERCUS, Cab. 



This Shrike is fairly figured in David and Oustalef s ' Oiseaux 

 de la Chine/ plate 76. It appears to breed in Eastern Siberia 

 (Tacz. Journ. f. Orn. 1876, p. 198), to pass through Mongolia 

 on migration (Prjev. Howl. Orn. Misc. ii. p. 273), and to winter 

 in China (David et Oustal. Ois. Chine, p. 93). 



LANIUS CRISTATUS, Linn. 



Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of the adult and two 



