U BOOTED BE ED WARBLER. 



"This Warbler was discovered by Eversmann and described in his 

 addenda to the celebrated Zoography of Pallas, under the name of 

 Sylvia scita. This work appeared in 1842-3 in Cassan. Later, when 

 Ever-smann undertook the investigation of natural history in the Ex- 

 pedition to Bokhara from the Russian Government, he sent his skins 

 collected during the expedition to Count Lichtenstein in Berlin, who 

 also worked out the zoological part of these travels, Dr. Eversmann 

 not having time and means at his disposal. Lichtenstein described 

 one of the skins under the name of Sylvia caliyata, because the 

 specimen, an old bird, had such 'overgrown' scales on the legs; an 

 appearance more or less observed in Reed Warblers, especially S. 

 palustris and S. arundinacea. Assuming this 'booted' appearance as 

 a striking character, Motacilla salicaria of Pallas was brought forward 

 as a synonym, on account of the expression used by Pallas of 

 'tibilia Integra,' without considering that Pallas introduced Curruca 

 arundinacea, Brisson, and Motacilla salicaria, Linnoeus, as synonyms. 

 Keyserling and Blasius described the Berlin specimen of S. caliyata, 

 Licht., very exactly, adding however, on Lichtenstein's authority, that 

 M. salicaria of Pallas was a synonym, an example followed by 

 Schlegel in his 'Revue.' After Eversmann was in Berlin, however, 

 and saw the type of Lichtenstein's S. caliyata, sent by him (which 

 was put away among the Nightingales,) and he reported to the 

 'Bulletin Imp. Mosc.,' 1848, No. 1, p. 225, that S. caliyata of Lich- 

 tenstein was his earlier described S. scita, and rejected the allegation 

 of 31. salicaria, Pallas. Suddenly, however, a new claim was set up 

 for the hard pressed S. scita. Her Liljeberg, from Lund, in Sweden, 

 in the preface to his Natural History Collection in Stockholm, 1852, 

 (see Naumann, vol. ii., part 2, page 95,) gives a species newly dis- 

 covered by him, Sylvia maynirostris, and is not certain whether it 

 belongs to S. scita or not. We are very far from being able to give 

 a competent judgment in this strife of synonyms, and confine our- 

 selves to a bird brought by us from Greece, which we have had the 

 opportunity of comparing with an original example of Eversmann's 

 in the Duke of Leuchtenberg's collection in Eichstadt, through the 

 kindness of the conservator, Dr. Frischmann, and by this means we 

 have been able to prove the identity of species. 



"The Berlin specimen is described by Keyserling and Blasius as 

 Lusciola caliyata thus: — 'Tail feathers rounded, middle one somewhat 

 shortened, grey brown, sprinkled with paler. The outer feathers all 

 round — the next within and at the end edged with dull whitish. 

 Outer edges of third to sixth wing feathers visibly narrowing towards 

 the tip. Upper parts pale olive brownish grey; underneath whitish; 



