24 BLACK-THROATED WHEATEAR, 
regions in winter, and meeting in Tunisia. The extremes of each 
are distinguishable in adult males, but there appear to be numerous 
intergradations, and I have therefore treated the bird under one 
heading. 
The Black-throated Wheatear is very common in Southern 
Europe from the middle of March; making a loose nest of bents 
and grass in holes and crevices, especially in old ruins ; and the late 
Mr. Seebohm found it breeding in the Parnassus up to an elevation 
of 3,000 feet. The eggs, rather elliptical-ovate in shape, are of a pale 
sea-green colour, freckled with brown: measurements, °75 by °6 in, 
In song, habits and food, this species resembles the Common Wheat- 
ear. The name stapazina refers to its noisy scolding note. 
The adult male in spring has the forehead white, the crown and 
upper back golden-buff, becoming paler as the season advances ; 
throat, lores and ear-coverts black ; wings nearly black ; lower back 
white ; the two central tail-feathers black almost to their bases, the 
rest white, margined with an amount of black which is subject to 
great diminution and partial disappearance with age; under parts 
buffish-white ; under wing-coverts black; bill, legs and feet black. 
In July and August, when the autumn moult takes place, the crown, 
nape, upper back and breast are rich buff; the wing coverts and 
secondaries broadly margined with pale buff. Length 5°6 in. ; wing 
35 in. The female differs in having the throat merely mottled with 
black ; the head streaked with hair-brown; upper back sandy- 
brown; wings dark brown; under parts dirty buff. The young 
resemble the female in general, but are rather more rufous ; and 
they have less white on the tail than the adults of the respective 
SEXES. 
To obviate the perpetuation of confusion, it must be remarked 
that the species here described is the one which Mr. Dresser in his 
‘Birds of Europe’ called “Saxicola rufa (Russet Chat)” ; but the 
bird was re-instated under its old and well-known name by the 
Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union. Unfortunately 
Mr. Dresser transferred the specific name s¢apazina to the Eared 
Wheatear, S. albicollis (Vieill.), S. aurita (Temm.), another southern 
species, which has not yet visited our islands. 
