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RUTICILLA ERYTHROGASTRA. 



Great White-capped Redstart. 



Motacilla erythrogastra, Giild. Nov. Comm. Petr. 1785, torn. xix. p. 469, tabs. xvi. & xvii.— Gmel. Edit. Linn. Syst. 



Nat., torn. i. p. 975. 

 Sylvia erythrogastra, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 503. 

 Chestnut-bellied Warbler, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 424.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 672. — Lath. Gen. Hist., 



vol. vii. p. 27. 

 Motacilla ceraunia, Pall. Zoog., torn. i. p. 478. 

 Ruticilla grandis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1849, p. 112. 



— erythrogastra, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 296. 



tricolor, lb., p. 296. 



The bird here represented is in every respect a typical Ruticilla, and is, moreover, so much finer than any 

 other member of the genus, that I was induced to consider it to be new to science, and to characterize it as 

 such in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1849, under the name of Ruticilla grandis (not 

 tricolor as quoted by the Prince of Canino) ; more recent research has, however, informed me that it was 

 long since described by M. Guldenstaedt with the appellation of Motacilla erythrogastra, under which title 

 it will be found in the works of Latham, Shaw and others ; it affords me much pleasure therefore to correct 

 the error into which I had fallen, and into which I had been led by finding a fine specimen in the Museum 

 at Berlin, labelled aurorea of Pallas, which I knew to be a very different bird. 



The Ruticilla erythrogastra is still extremely rare in all our collections ; the specimens in my possession 

 were obtained in the valley of Cashmere, in which locality it was frequently seen, and examples were also 

 procured by Mr. Vigne. M. Guldenstaedt informs us that it frequents the gravelly hollows of the Caucasian 

 Torrents during the whole of the summer, and migrates southward in search of food on the approach of 

 winter; that it runs along the banks of rivers ; is restless, but not fearful ; often moves its tail while sitting 

 on the low shrubs ; and makes its nest among the branches of the sea buckthorn, of the berries of which 

 it is very fond. 



Crown of the head and the basal portion of the primaries and secondaries white ; forehead, cheeks, chin, 

 throat, back, wing-coverts, and the apical portion of the primaries and secondaries black ; abdomen, lower 

 part of the back, upper and under tail-coverts and tail rich rufous ; bill and feet black. 



The Plate represents a male and a female, or young male of the natural size. 





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