dt eA 6 ae 
Birds. 9021 
olive-brown band passes through it, and a dark brown one over it. Anterior part of 
back olive-brown, with a yellowish tinge. Posterior yellowish green. Upper tail- 
coverts light brown, tinged and margined with greenish yellow. Tail of a light glossy 
hair-brown; the feathers twelve in number, edged with yellowish green on the outer 
webs, and are all, except the two centre ones, broadly margined and slightly tipped 
with gray and yellowish white on the inner webs; the feathers, like those of Sylvia 
locustella, are beautifully and minutely barred with a darker shade of brown. The 
tail is almost even, though Wilson says it is ‘‘slightly forked,” but the centre feathers 
are well nigh, if not quite, as long as the rest: the lateral feathers, though rounded on 
the outer web, are diagonally sloped or cut off on the inner web, giving the tail, when 
closed, a slightly forked appearance. The wing has eighteen quills of a darkish hair- 
brown, with black shafis. The primaries, except the two first, slightly tipped with 
grayish white, and they are all margined exteriorly with bright yellowish green, and 
with white on the inner webs. Second quill longest, the third next; and the second, 
third and fourth are cut out on. the exterior web. The inner secondaries are of a 
glossy yellowish brown, with a rufous tinge; the outer secondaries like the primaries, 
but more broadly margined with yellowish green. The coverts like the quills. Cheek 
light grayish brown, with a greenish yellow tinge. Chin grayish white. Throat white. 
Breast white, shaded with gray and yellowish brown. Beliy and vent white, the latter 
tinged with greenish yellow. The under tail-coverts similar, and very elongated. 
Sides white, shaded with greenish yellow. Under wing-coverts yellow. Tarsus and 
tees brown, with a bluish tinge. Claws light, curved and pointed.— Henry Hadfield ; 
Ventnor, Isle of Wight, March 11, 1864. 
Redwings singing in England.—This to me is something new: I have heard them 
chattering often with fieldfares, but I have never heard any birds sing much in flocks. 
Whether the bird Mr. Wharton mentions might nut have been that soft, melodious 
bird, the wood lark, I do not know, but I agree with Mr. Newman that it was a pity 
the bird was not shot tn ipso facto. It is rude to contradict such strong circumstantial 
evidence as that given by Mr. Matthews, who says that, except the nightingale, he 
does not know a more beautiful songster than the redwing; from its strong resem- 
blance to the thrush, it ought to have a similarity of note. I shall do my best next 
winter to listen to the redwing ; but already the redwings and fieldfares have neatly dis- 
appeared, the weather having become suddenly mild, and my present residence is near 
a populous town. Starlings, the most gregarious birds I know of, in all seasons, sing 
in flocks in their quiet, twittering, unassuming way, but that is all—H. W. Newman ; 
Hillside, Cheltenham, March 1, 1864, 
Redwings singing in England.—I am quite of Mr. Newman’s opinion (Zool. 8947) 
as to the singing of the redwing in this country. I feel quite sure that the thrush has 
been mistaken for it: I have had for years plenty of opportunities of hearing them had 
they sung. I do not call the twittering they make, when they are assembled together 
with fieldfares and starlings, singing. We have no end of redwings at Kingsbury 
every winter and spring: they are in the habit of roosting in the shrubberies of a 
neighbour, close to my house, and generally assemble, in fine weather, for a short 
time, in a double row of large elm trees bordering a lane in front of our house, . 
and wake a good deal of twittering: among them are mostly one or two resident 
song thrushes singing, and people seeing so many redwings might have fancied 
it was those birds that were singing.—Lrederick Bond; Kentish Town, March 12, 
1864. 
