FRINGILLINA. 189 
THE MEALY REDPOLL. 
Linota LinARia (Linnzeus). 
The logical separation of the various species or races of Redpolls 
is one which presents unusual difficulties. Dr. R. B. Sharpe 
considers (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. pp. 245-257) the typical Mealy 
Redpoll, Zzzota inarvia, as a main stem, if I may use the term, with 
three subspecies, viz.: Z. Aoldoel/i, rather larger and with a very 
much longer bill, found “in Northern Europe from Scandinavia to 
Eastern Siberia,” and, as a wanderer, twice in Norfolk ; LZ. rostrata, 
“only distinguishable by the coarser striping of the under parts and 
by the stouter and more obtuse bill,” inhabiting Greenland and 
North-eastern America ; and our smaller and ruddier Lesser Redpoll, 
L. rufescens, of which more hereafter. ZL. exi/ifes, with greyer rump, 
Dr. Sharpe considers to be a good species, with a range extending 
from Northern Scandinavia across Siberia and throughout Northern 
America ; while he puts down as a subspecies of Z. exilipes the 
rather larger LZ. hornemanni, of Eastern North America, Greenland, 
Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen, one example of which was 
recorded by Hancock, under the name of Z. cumescens, as having 
been obtained near Whitburn, Durham, on April 24th 1855, and 
another by Mr. Cordeaux from the Humber district (Zool. 1895, 
p. 58). The whole question is incrusted by a voluminous literature, 
in which hardly two authors agree as regards specific value ; but, 
