MOTACILLIN.E. 113 



from the latter locality, besides a series from various localities in 

 Japan. In the Swinhoe collection there are five examples from 

 Yezzo; in the Pryer collection there are six examples from Yoko- 

 hama; and in the British Museum is an example, presented by 

 Mr. Ringer, from Nagasaki, where the example figured in the 

 ' Fauna Japonica' as Motacilla lugens was probably obtained. 



The changes which the Japanese Wagtail undergoes diflfer com- 

 pletely from those of its Kamtschatkan ally. First, as regards 

 season : the plumage of winter does not differ from that of summer ; 

 the head is always entirely black, except the white forehead, chin, 

 and eye-stripe. Second, as regards age : the amount of white on the 

 quills of adult birds resembles that of the allied species ; but in 

 immature birds there is also a great deal of white on the basal halves 

 of these feathers. Young in first plumage have the entire head, 

 breast, and back grey. Third, as regards sex : females differ only 

 from males in having the back a very dark slate-grey instead of 

 black. 



The Pied Wagtails appear to be of all birds the most unfortunate 

 as regards nomenclature. The Japanese Wagtail was originally de- 

 scribed in 1835 as Motacilla lugubris (Temminck, Man. d'Orn, iii. 

 p. 175), and twelve years later as Motacilla lugens (Temminck and 

 Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 60). In 1863 Swinhoe discovered 

 that both these names were preoccupied (though he did not place 

 either of them correctly), and renamed the Japanese Wagtail 

 Motacilla japonica. He, however, fell into the same error that the 

 authors of the ' Fauna Japonica ' committed, correctly regarding the 

 plumage there figured as that of adult summer, but incorrectly 

 regarding the Kamtschatkan Wagtail as the winter plumage. It 

 was not until twenty-one years later that the Japanese Wagtail was 

 correctly diagnosed (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 38). If Swinhoe was 

 a lumper I was a splitter. Swinhoe confounded two species under 

 the name M. japonica. I restricted his name to the Japanese Wag- 

 tail, and split the Kamtschatkan Wagtail into two supposed species, 

 M. amurensis and M. blakisfoni. This ought to have been a final 

 settlement of the nomenclature of the Japanese Wagtail; but in 

 1885 the synonymy of this unfortunate bird was once more confused 

 by the addition of a fourth name, M. grandis (Sharpe, Cat. Birds 

 Brit. Mus. X. p. 492). It is unnecessary to say that there can be no 

 excuse for the creation of this useless synonym. 



