THE PEKIN-ROBIN 



This is not a robin, nor does it seem to be 

 nearly related to the familiar redbreast ; Pekin- 

 or China-robin is merely the name the dealers 

 give it, because a great many specimens are 

 imported from China. Its classical name is 

 Liothrix luteus. Oates calls it the red-billed 

 liothrix. It is a bird about the size of a sparrow. 

 The prevailing hue of the upper plumage is 

 olive green, but the forehead is yellow. There 

 is also a yellow ring round the eye, and the 

 lower parts are of varying shades of this colour. 

 Some of the wing feathers are edged with 

 yellow and some with crimson, so that the 

 wings, when closed, look as though lines of 

 these colours are pencilled upon them. Oates, 

 I notice, states that the hen has no red in the 

 wing, but this does not seem to be the case in 

 all examples. In the Pekin-robins that hail 

 from China the chief difference between the 

 sexes is that the plumage of the hen is a little 

 duller than that of the cock. The bill is 

 133 



