iss^.l STKjNKr.F.u ID/ ///(■ <iri//i^ Acantliis. ^S^ 



with his liDiccolata , Itiit ^ives no t'milier chic to the ori<^in of 

 tliis name, nor docs his countiNnian, Duliois, who. in his 'Consp. 

 Av. Kurop.', p. i8 (Hrux.. iSyi), <4i\cs tlie combination Acanthis 

 linaria y lanceolata Sehs. IIa\in<i,- no access to De Selys's 

 'Faune Bel<^e,' nor to his other writings (it does not occur in the 

 paper entitled 'Sur les Oiseanx am^ricains dans hi faune 

 europ^enne' in 'M6m. Soc. Li6ge,' 1847, IV. p. 35), I cannot 

 come to any conchision upon this point. But it is very desirable 

 that auA'one having the opportunitv should look the matter up 

 before the new list of North American birds, planned by the 

 A. O. U., is published.* 



There remains onlv to be said a few words upon the two 

 European races of /inaria not recognized from America. The 

 one is the pallcscens^ spoken of above, while the other is the 

 form found breeding in the British Islands, and, as I believe, on 

 all the high mountains of Southern Europe. Mr. Seebohm 

 (Hist. Brit. Bird's Eggs, II, p. 117, London, 1S83) states that 

 "the onlv known instance of the Lesser Red^^ole breeding out 

 of the British Islands is that recorded bv Professor Giglioli 

 ('Ibis,' i88r, p. 204), who obtained a iiest from the Veglio Alps 

 in Italv, about 7000 feet above the sea-level." This is not cor- 

 rect, for its breeding in the Stvrian AI2DS. at a height of 5.000 to 

 6,000 feet above sea-level, has been several times announced by 

 von Tschusi-Schmidhofen (r/". J. f. Orn., 1872, p. 132, as 

 Acanthis linaria; ibid., 1S75, p. 409, as Frijigilla L; and 

 ibid., 1876, p. 331, as Fringilla rn^fescens) . 



This form is said to be distinguished by its rump having no 

 white coloring, and by being smaller than linaria. A specimen 

 in the National Museum from England, shot on the i8th of May, 

 1837, ^^ ^^ ^'^^ ^'^^ °^' '^ small linaria^ but has a decidedly 

 weaker bill. As it is in bad condition, nothing can be concluded 

 from the color of the plumage. 



There can be no doubt as to the identification of Buftbn's 'PL 

 Enlum.,' pi. 485, fig. 2, upon which Miiller's name Fritigilla 

 cabaret and Boddaert's Fringilla minima are based. The 

 uropvgium is plainly visible and is painted uniform brown, the 

 main character of the English bird. 



* Since writing the above Mr. J. A. Allen has kindly informed me that it does not 

 occur in this work. The probability therefore is that it is only a museum name. 



