202 
2 
reliquo flavo, hypochondriis cinereo lavatis: vostro nigricaute: pedibus brunnescenti-incarnatis : iride 
nigro-fusca. 
2 ad. mari similis sed sordidior, guld nec nigra sed alba vix nigro notata. 
Piil. hiem. corpore supra’ saturaté cinereo vix olivaceo tincto: stria superciliari flavicanti-albida: gula alba - 
pectore rufescenti-ochraceo: corpore subtus reliquo pallidé sulphureo, sed crisso et subcaudalibus leté 
flavis, 
Adult Male in summer (Derbyshire). Crown, nape, sides of the head, and entire upper parts dark ashy 
with an olive tinge on the back; rump and upper tail-coverts greenish yellow; quills blackish, 
secondaries white at the base, and with narrow light-brown edgings to the inner feathers; larger wing- 
coverts blackish, with dull ashy edgings, smaller coverts coloured like the back ; outermost tail-feather 
white, the next two on each side white, with the outer web, except towards the tip, blackish, the 
remaining feathers being blackish with greenish yellow narrow edgings, which become broader towards 
the base of the feather ; chin and throat black, a streak over the eye, and another indistinctly defined 
streak on each side of the black throat, white; rest of the underparts canary-yellow, brightest on the 
under tail-coverts; flanks washed with grey; bill blackish; legs dull fleshy brown; iris blackish 
brown. ‘Total length about 7 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3°25, tail 3-9, tarsus 0°85. 
Adult Male in autumn (Cookham, Berks, 20th September). Upper parts dark ashy with an olive tinge; 
wings and tail as in the summer dress, except that the margins to the secondaries are rather larger ; 
rump yellowish green; the streak over the eye rusty yellowish white; throat white; breast rusty 
ochre; rest of the underparts sulphur-yellow, except the under tail-coverts and crissum, which are 
rich canary-yellow. 
Adult Female in spring (ake Baikal, 26th May). Differs from the male in having the upper parts rather 
duller in tinge, and the underparts of a slightly paler shade of yellow, and the throat is greyish white, 
with one or two blackish feathers on the chin. Several adult females in my possession agree closely 
with this specimen; but old females appear to have the throat more mottled with colour. 
Adult Female in autumn. Differs very slightly from the male, being a little duller in colour and a trifle 
smaller in size. 
Young. A young bird which had just left the nest, shot by myself at Staufen im Breisgau, had the upper 
parts grey with a slight greenish tinge, the rump greenish yellow, a yellowish white streak passes 
over the eye, and under the eye there is an indistinct white mark ; wings and tail as in the adult. but 
the secondary coverts have greyish tips; underparts greyish white with a primrose tinge; lower tail- 
coverts pale yellow; fore neck marked with greyish; breast washed with pale reddish grey; bill dark 
brown; legs pale fleshy grey ; claws dark brown. 
Obs, Many recent authors have treated the Eastern or Asiatic form of the present species as distinct, under the 
name of Motacilla melanope; and I thought that this view was the correct one, and that our bird would 
stand under the name of M. sulphurea, until I examined a larger series from various localities. The 
distinctive character claimed for the eastern bird is, that its tail is said to be constantly shorter; but I 
find that examples from the Azores have, as a rule, shorter tails than Asiatic specimens, and from Turkey 
T have birds with tails as long as any from England, and others with as short tails as birds from Siberia. 
The shortest tail is that of an old full-plumaged male from the Azores, as it measures only 3°5 inches. 
The length of the tails in the specimens now before me varies as follows:—Madeira and the Azores, 
