BY H. E. STRICKLAND. 
in Strom, we shall at once perceive that Strom, who was not a 
scientific ornithologist, has given a pretty good description of An- 
tJius pratensis in the autumnal plumage. This description Brun- 
nich translated into Latin, and in so doing, introduced some little 
variation into the meaning so that it has been misunderstood. (See 
especially the phrase “ abdomen cseruleuui, prope anuin flavescens ). 
Strom himself places the bird next after the Pari , and adds, that it 
was unknown to him , and thus the name Partis ignotus originated. 
I have not Strom’s work now by me, but several years ago I made 
this investigation into the origin of “ Parus ignotus ,” and am quite 
satisfied of its correctness. I presume that the expression “ abdo- 
men cseruleum” arose from a slip of the pen in Strom, who wrote 
“ bugen mork blaae,” instead of “bugen mdrk graae, which last 
word means cinereous. All the rest of his description applies ad- 
mirably to Anthus pratensis in autumnal livery. In the index to 
Gloger’s “ Handbuch der Vogel Europas,” it is said that Parus ig- 
notus was originally a specimen of Motacilla Jlava, but artificially 
made up; a supposition which I cannot regard as correct, for the 
description applies far better to Anthus than to Motacilla. 
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