collected in Transcaucasia. 421 



wing - coverts. In contradiction to his identification, 

 Lorenz points out that Caucasian males " are conspicuous 

 by the exceedingly bright red colouring of their under 

 parts, such as is never seen in P. coccinea." 



M. Menzbier, who evidently led Mr. Lorenz astray, informs 

 us {I.e. 1895, ii. p. 592) that north-eastern " P. coccinea 

 De Sel." does not visit the Caucasus even in winter, that 

 " P. vulgaris Temm." is widely distributed there, as might 1)0 

 Avell expected, because this bird belongs to West, Central, and 

 Southern Europe, North-west Africa, and Asia Minor ; 

 M. Menzbicr adds that he has himself seen from the Caucasus 

 only "P. vulgaris Temm.," and tries to ridicule lladde's 

 statements to the contrary. 



When Mr. Derjugin published (Ann. Mus. Zool. Ac. Sc. 

 St. Pet. vol. v. 1900, p. 43, lluss.) the results of his excursion 

 to the Chorokh basin (South-western Transcaucasia), he 

 named his specimens " Pyrrhula pyrrhula rossikowi Biauchi," 

 giving no description, but mentioning that his specimens of 

 this Bullfinch, as all others from the Caucasus and Trans- 

 caucasia, had been identified by Dr. Biauchi as belonging 

 to a new subspecies ; that Dr. Biauchi had already thought 

 of naming this subspecies P. pyrrhula rossikowi, and would 

 shortly publish a full description of it. Mr. Derjugin added 

 that he had satisfied himself that the Caucasian Bullfinch, 

 contrary to Menzbicr's assertion, in no way resembled 

 western P. europeca Vieill., but was very near to the eastern 

 P. pyrrhula, " the chief points of difference being the bright 

 brick-red colouring of the under parts, and the dimensions 

 of the black cap and bill ; ' *. 



As neither Biauchi nor anyone else ever published a de- 

 scription of the Caucasian Bullfinch, I will add some notes. 

 I have compared five males and three females from Kutais 

 and Akhalzikh (January) with seven males and four females 

 from Ssimbirsk (March, October, and November) and two 

 males from Livonia (January). 



* Thus " P. p. rossikoioi" of Derjugin and Bianchi cannot be considered 

 as a nomen nudum. The bright red of North-Caucasian birds had already 

 been noticed by Mr. Lorenz {I. c). 



