48 



According to Mr. Blanford, the present species abounds in the forest district near the 

 Caspian, and that probably the Robins obtained by De Filippi from Kend, in the neighbourhood 

 of Tehran, as well as from Ghilan, belonged to this species ; and Sir O. St. John adds that it was 

 found plentifully about Resht, on the shores of the Caspian. 



Radde unites this bird with E. rubecula and says that he found intermediate forms, and that 

 all one can say is that the Caucasian Redbreast has a tendency to the dark form. It appears to 

 me, however, after a careful examination of specimens, that the Persian Redbreast is a fairly good 

 species, differing constantly in having the upper tail-coverts chestnut instead of olive-brown, the 

 breast darker in tone of colour, and the bill slightly larger than in the Western form. Dr. Koenig 

 has separated the Redbreast of Teneriffe from Erithacus rubecula on account of the deeper 

 coloration of the breast and (J. f. O. 1890, p. 383) gave it the name of JErithacus superbus. 

 Some time previously Mr. Meade- Waldo had observed that the Teneriffe birds had the breast 

 very rich in tint of colour, and sent me specimens for examination and comparison ; but after 

 a careful comparison with specimens from various parts of Europe, I found that several were 

 quite as brightly coloured as the specimens from Teneriffe and differed in no respect from 

 them, and therefore assured him that it could not be looked on as specifically separable, and still 

 hold the same opinion. All that can be said is that, as a rule, the Teneriffe Redbreast has the 

 breast more richly coloured than the average European bird. 



In habits, song, and nidification the Persian Redbreast is said not to differ from our Western 

 bird, and the nest and eggs of the two species are similar. 



The specimen figured and described is the adult female from Resht in my own collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a, tS . Kuban, Caucasus, March 8th, 1891 (von Tschusi zu Schmidhofen) . b, ? . Resht, on the Caspian, October 

 1869 (W. T. Blanford). 



E Mus. Brit. 



a. Kultais, Caucasus, January 8th, 1880 (Michalowski) . b, <J . Resht, Persia (Sir O. St. John), c, 6 . Fao, 

 Persian Gulf, October 20th, 1886. d, e. Fao, November 1886 (Gumming). 



