60 W. T. Blanford— Zoology of SiJehim. [No. 1» 



Young birds are uniformly grey on the head and back, sides of head and 

 lower parts white, Avith a narrow black pectoral gorget. 



Without specimens I cannot tell if this bird differs from M. lugubris, 

 Pall. The Japanese bird called 31 lugens by Temminck and Schlegel in 

 the Fauna Jctponica (II. japonica, Swinhoe), and considered by them to be 

 Pallas's bird, is shewn by Tristram (Ibis, 1866, p. 291,) to be entirely distinct, 

 it being easily recognised by the greater portion of the primary quills being 

 white, and Mr. Tristram considers the true 31. lugubris, Temminck, to be an 

 African species. But Mr. J. R. Gray in his ' Hand list' gives the locality for 

 31. lugubris, Pall., (a different bird probably from Temminck's) as Northern 

 Asia and Persia, and quotes the figure in Gould's birds of Europe. 



Now the bird in winter plumage on G-ould's plate agrees very well with 

 31 Sodgsoni, and the bird in summer plumage only differs in having a 

 narrow white line from behind the eye to the lower breast somewhat as in 

 21. alba. The figures rather exceed the Sikkim birds in size, but in most of 

 Gould's figures the dimensions are a little too large. The bill too in the plate 

 appears a little shorter. I cannot, therefore, feel sure that the forms are 

 identical, but I think it very probable that they are. 



I met with no wagtails in Eastern Sikkim, but on ascending to about 

 12,000 feet in the Lachung valley I found them common. It is probable that 

 they breed here, for I had seen none in the lower valleys, and but few 

 migratory birds had made their appearance on September 11th when I first 

 met with them. All were beginning to change then plumage. 



Budytes vxredis, Grin. — A single young specimen in grey plumage was 

 obtained at Yeomatong (12,000 feet) on the 13th September. It was 

 doubtless migrating. 



Alaudidce. 



596 Pjdpastes agilis ? Sykes. — Whether the common Indian tree pipit 

 is to be called P. plumatus, Miill., P. arboreus, Bechst,, P. agilis, Sykes or 

 P. maculatus, Hodgs., I must leave others to decide. On Mr. Blyth's 

 authority, Dr. Jerdon in his appendix refers Anthus agilis, Sykes, to A. 

 arboreus, and substitutes Mr. Hodgson's name maculatus for the Indian 

 race. Mr. Blyth in his commentary in the Ibis, 1867, p. 31, uses Sykes's 

 name, but says that Sykes's type has more the appearance of the Emopean 

 trivialis (= arboreus= plumatus teste Gray Hand list, p. 251). Von Pelzeln 

 (Ibis, 1868, p. 312,) is inclined to unite the Indian and Emopean forms, but 

 almost all European writers keep them distinct.* Lastly Mr. Hume (Ibis, 

 1870, p. 287,) points out that in his large collection he has representatives 

 of all the varieties of the European tree pipit, together with numerous forms 

 intermediate between them and the forms described by Hodgson and Sykes, 

 * Comp. Walden, Ibis, 1868, p. 312 note. Gray, Hand list 1. c, &c. 



