316 BRITISH BIRDS. 



the necessity of separating the British form, and I have 

 done so in a review of the genus Pratincola, in the 

 "Journ. f. Orn." (1910, pp. 171-182). There I have 

 named the British race, on p. 173, Pratincola torquata 

 hibernans. Why not P. rubicola hibernans ? Because, 

 as I have explained in the article mentioned above, 

 P. rubicola is nothing but a northern race, or geographical 

 form, of P. torquata from south and south-west Africa. 

 P. torquata was named by Linnaeus (Syst. Nat. Ed., 

 XII., p. 328) first, P. rubicola (t.c, p. 332) afterwards. 

 Therefore, as I go by strict priority in nomenclature, 

 I must call the South African race P. torquata torquata, 

 the Central European one P. torquata rubicola, and not 

 the former P. rubicola torquata, and the latter P. rubicola 

 rubicola. 



Our British bird thus becomes P. torquata hibernans. 

 It differs from P. torquata rubicola not only by the more 

 rufous look of the upperside, but also by the brighter, 

 more chestnut colour of the under-surface, especially 

 the breast. It is very strikingly different in fresh autumn- 

 plumage, but worn summer birds are not easy to recognise, 

 though, as a rule, much more of the rufous edging to the 

 feathers remains on the back, and the flanks are usually 

 darker. 



P. torquata hibernans is, as every British ornithologist 

 knows, mainly a resident bird, while on the Continent 

 P. torquata rubicola is chiefly migratory. 



I have not been able to find differences between British 

 and Central European examples of Pratincola rubetra. 

 This is not strange, because the latter is a strict migrant 

 and remains in Great Britain less than six months. With 

 the exception of the two Wagtails — and M . lugubris is 

 also often resident, only wandering short distances in 

 hard weather — all forms peculiar to the British Isles are 

 resident or chieflv resident. 



