282 SYLVIADA. 
Greenland by Fabricius and others. Captain James Ross, 
m the Natural History appended to the narrative of the 
last Voyage to the Arctic Regions, says of the Wheatear, 
““One of these little birds was observed flying round the 
ship in Felix Harbour, 70° N. 91° 53’ W., on the 2nd of 
May 1830, and was found dead alongside the next morn- 
ing: having arrived before the ground was sufficiently un- 
covered to enable it to procure its food, it had perished 
from want. It is the only instance of this bird having 
been met with in Arctic America, in the course of our 
several expeditions to those regions.” 
The Wheatear is abundant on the European Continent, 
and very numerous on the northern shores of the Mediter- 
ranean in spring, and again in autumn. M. Temminck 
says it is found in Dalmatia and the Morea; it is found 
also in Sicily and Crete; Mr. Strickland observed it at 
Smyrna in April; and the Zoological Society have re- 
ceived specimens from Keith Abbott, Esq., obtained at 
Trebizond and Erzeroom, the most eastern localities, as far 
as I am aware, that have yet been quoted for this species. 
The adult male in the breeding season has the beak, the 
space between the beak and the eye, a small line under the 
eye, and the ear-coverts, black; the irides dark brown ; 
the space above the base of the beak, a narrow line over 
the eye, and a small space above the ear-coverts, white ; 
the head, back, and scapulars, of a fine light grey; wing- 
coverts and quill-feathers almost black : upper tail-coverts 
white ; the two middle tail-feathers, with the proximal 
third, white,—the distal two-thirds black ; all the other 
tail-feathers have the proximal two-thirds white, the distal 
one-third black: chin and throat buff colour ; belly, flanks, 
vent, and under tail-coverts, pale buffy white; legs, toes, 
and claws, black. 
a 
