Birds of Celebes; Motacillidae. 



539 



Skeleton. Length of cranium . . 30.5 mm 



Greatest breadth of cranium 10.0 ■> 



Length of humerus . . . 19.5 » 



Length of ulna 24.6 » 



Length of radius .... 22.0 - 



Length of manus .... 22.0 > 



Length of metacarpus . 12.0 > 



Length of digitus principahs 9.8 



Length of femur .... 18.0 » 



Length of tibia 33.0 » 



Length of fibula .... 7.7 nun 



Length of tarso- metatarsus 24.0 » 



Length of digitus HI . ca.17.0 » 



Length of sternum . . . 23.0 » 



Greatest breadth of sternum ca. 10.5 » 



Height of crista sterni . . 7.3 » 



Length of coracoideum . 18.5 » 



Length of scapula. . . 22.5 » 



Length of clavicula . . . 16.3 » 



Length of pelvis . . . . 26.8 » 



Eggs. Usually 5; ground-colour obscured with brown and grey spots, occasionally forming a 

 ring at the larger end; size 20 X 14 mm (Petchora, Seebohm c I). Pale vinous 

 ground, varied with a multitude of streaks and very small spots of reddish brown, 

 everywhere very dense, tliickest on the large end; a substratmn of pale greyish rose 

 spots; often with some veins of black; [gloss slight; av. size 20.4 X 14.9 mm 

 (Kamtschatka and Behring Id. — ex Tacz. 23). 



Nest. Of flat leaves, water-plants and small leaves fSeebohm c I — Petchora\ Chiefly 

 grasses, mixed with a small, number of fine stalks of other plants, a few black and 

 white horse-hairs inside interlaced with the other materials; external diam. 90, internal 

 6(t mm (Kamtschatka — Taczanowski 23). 



Distribution. Eui'ope — Petchora valley (Seebohm & Harvie-Browu c I, c 2); North Asia 

 — Obi (Finsch c 5, 12], Yenesei (Seebohm S), Altai (23), Dauria (Moszynski 23), 

 Kamtschatka (Dybowski 23], Ooiomodore (Commander) Is. (Stejneger 23); North 

 China — Chefoo (Swinhoe 2), Central Cliina — Iviangsi (David b 4), South China 

 (Styani^, De La Touche 2^/); Philippines — Luzon (Othberg.3, 7, Mait.-Heriot 75), 

 Negros (Everett 30], Leyte, Guimaras, Basilan (Steere 5, 21), Tawi Tawi, Sibuyan, 

 Romblon and Masbate (B. & W. 27), Palawan (Whitehd. 15, 18, Platen 16); Borneo 

 (Treacher, Ussher, etc. 9, 10, 17'"'']; North Celebes (Meyer b 2, b 3, Rosenb. 12, 

 Fischer .3, Guillemard 11, Platen, etc.); Manado tua (Nat. Coll. in Dresd. Mus.); 

 Djampea and Kalao (Everett 29); Batchian (Wallace h 5, Guillem. 12], Temate 

 (Fischer b 6, b 7); Timor (Wallace 12). 



This Pipit was first obtained by Mr. Wallace in Batchian, but was not 

 immediately described as new by G. R. Gray, and it was rediscovered rather 

 more than thirty years ago by Swinhoe on the island of Amoy during the 

 bird's transit from its winter quarters to its breeding grounds in May. Since then, 

 thanks to the observations of Swinhoe, Seebohm, Dybowski, Stejneger and 

 others, a fairly good knowledge of its distribution, habits and migration has 

 been obtained. Five nests were found by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie- 

 Brown on the Petchora, at the end of June and beginning of July, 1875; then 

 it was again found breeding by Seebohm in the valley of the Yenesei in July, 

 by Dr. Dybowski in Kamtschatka, and by Dr. Stejneger in the Commander 

 Islands. In the last locality it is one of the commonest birds; the first eggs 

 were obtained on the 30*'' May, and eggs of the second sitting in July. In North 

 China Swinhoe (2) observed that numbers pass on migration near Chefoo, but 

 in South China Messrs. Styan and De La Touch e have very rarely met with 



68* 



