250 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
All the specimens (six) of phanicuroides were obtained during the spring 
and autumn; Pitman noted that Red-tailed Shrikes were abundant in the 
Adhaim area in the first ten days of October and after that only a few were 
seen ; three specimens he obtained about that time were phenicuroides and as 
no specimens were got between October 12th and early April, during which 
period 8 specimens of isabellinus were obtained, it is extremely suggestive that 
the former is only a bird of passage—as I know to be the case elsewhere. Since 
all Red-tailed Shrikes were found commoner in spring and autumn, isabellinus 
may too be in part a passage migrant. phenicuroides was obtained at Fao 
as late as May 25th; it nests in the Zagros according to Zarudny. From a 
specimen of isabellinus I took a parasitic worm from under the skin behind the 
eye, a situation I have often found similar parasites in col/urio. Dr. Manson 
Bahr informs me this is a filaria and the intermediate host is the feather louse. 
Zarudny goes to far extremes in the recognition of racial forms and in some 
cases at all events his ‘‘ races” are nothing but individual variations; this 
“ oversplitting ’” and lack of proper conception of what a racial form is brings 
this important part of ornithology into disrepute (there are still some who 
“do not believe’’ in the existence of the most obvious subspecies), and moreover 
gives an infinite amount of unproductive and needless toil to those who later 
work in the same field ; work which in some cases is impossible as his specimens 
are ungetable in Tashkent and many of his descriptions are written in Rus- 
sian! His treatment of the Red-tailed Shrikes is a case in point. These 
Shrikes throughout their range divide into five fairly well marked races, two of 
which only concern us— phenicuroides and isabellinus (both of which vary some- 
what individually). These two Zarudny makes into full species :—zsabellinus 
with two races, speculigera and salina; and phenicuroides also with two races 
caniceps and varia—all six forms to be found in Persia and all except varia and 
salina inhabiting the Karun district in winter ! 
(1) Eighteen specimens examined: ¢, Amara, 25-10-17, 25-4-18, 26-10-18, 
1-12-17, 5-1-18 ;¢, Baghdad, 21-9-17; L. Akkarkus, 12-10-17; Ezra’s Tomb, 
23-2-18 (two) (P. A. B.); Abed, 9-2-18 (F. M. B.): Kamisiyeh, 7-1-17 (Aldworth) 
Feluja, 24-4-17, 29-4-17 (C. R. P.); ¢ Q, Basra, 21-11-17 (C. B. T.); Q, Sheik 
Saad, 31-3-17;¢, Kut, 1-10-18 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.); Gurmat Ali, 26-9-20. 
(2) Five examined: ¢, Fao, 25-5-18 (Armstrong); ¢, Sheik Saad, 4-4-19 (P. 
Z.C. and R. E. C.); Adhaim, 2-10-17, 12-10-17, 27-9-17 (C. R. P.). 
One isabellinus, 25-10-17, has much juvenile plumage still present. It 
rather resembles juvenile of collurio, but the tail is longer and there is no white 
on the outer web of the outer tail feathers and it is paler grey on the back. 
( To be continued. ) 
