3020 THE ZooLocistT—APRIL, 1872. 
considerably injured, and there are now but eight tail-feathers remaining 
instead of fourteen (the missel thrush having but twelve). By other 
marked characters, however, it is easily distinguished. The bird, I am sorry 
to say, looks very unwell, and will, I fear, die from the injuries received.— 
J. C. H. Johnstone; Castle Eden Colly, Durham.—From the ‘ Field’ of 
March 9. 
White’s Thrush.— Mr. F. Boyes (Zool. S. S. 2922) appears doubtful as 
to the specific distinctness of the White’s thrush, but I think any doubts on 
this head will be removed by a perusal of Mr. R. F. Tomes’ paper on the 
subject in the ‘Ibis’ for 1859, p. 379—389, and especially by the summary 
of anatomical peculiarities which Mr. Tomes gives at p. 388. The following 
synonymy of White’s thrush chiefly taken from Gray’s ‘Hand List of 
Birds,’ vol. i., p. 254, may prove useful to those who are investigating the 
subject :— 
Turdus (Oreocincla) varius of Pallas (but not of Horsfield). 
3 ~ aurea of Hollandre. 
x Pe squamatus of Brehm. 
rs %y Whitei of Eyton. 
i lunulatus of Blasius (but not of Latham), 
3 i Hancii of Swinhoe.— J. H. Gurney; Marldon, 
Totnes, February 29, 1872. 
Varieties of the Blackbird.—A number of varieties of the common black- 
bird have occurred in this neighbourhood during last autumn and winter. 
One of them was a very nicely marked bird, the contrast between the two 
colours being great, for whilst the white portions were very pure, the normal 
colouring was very rich: it had also a rich yellow beak, and I call attention 
to this as on dissection it turned out an old female, and had it not been 
dissected would undoubtedly have passed asa male. May not this be the 
reason in some instances of the more frequent occurrence of (so-called) male 
varieties? Another of the birds was of an uniform dirty white throughout, 
and had not a single dark feather about it. The rest were more or less pied, 
and chiefly old birds. I have noticed on the arrival of our migratory black- 
birds in the autumn that not one in twenty (of the males of course) has a 
yellow beak ; still they appear to have assumed the adult plumage, but want 
that richness of colour that our resident birds have: I think they are also a 
little smaller. Are they all birds of the year?—F. Boyes; Beverley, 
February 23, 1872. 
Chiffchaff in March.—I wish to inform you that I heard the chiffchaff, for 
the first time this year, here on Tuesday, the 12th of this month. Out of 
the last fifteen recorded annual arrivals, these birds have only in four years 
been heard before April 5th in this neighbourhood. ‘Their arrival last year 
was also early, viz., on March 24th.—Clermont ; Ravensdale Park, Newry, 
March 18, 1872. 
