1090 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
{vi) Motacilla maderaspatensis. 
Mr. Stuart Baker puts this Wagtail (B.N.H.S. 27 p. 37) as a race of alba ; 
with this I cannot agree. It is possibly ti-ue that it does not breed in the area 
of hodgsoni, there being probably an altitudinal difference in habitat, though 
it undoubtedly does breed in the Himalayas ; yet in many points this species 
differs from the alba group. Firstly this bird is in habits unlike the latter group 
in being practically confined to water courses. Secondly, it is resident through- 
out most of its range whereas all the alba group are migratory. Thirdly, its 
very superior size ; fourthly, its total absence of white forehead which all races 
of alba shew in winter, fifthly the summer and winter plumages are alike and 
sixthly, so far as I have been able to ascertain, it has no spring moult. 
IV'. — The Grey Wagtail. 
Motacilla cinerea melanope. 
This is the Eastern representative of the European Grey Wagtail. It differs 
from the latter in having a shorter tail and some alleged differences in the outer 
three tail feathers, viz : — ( 1) outer tail feather brown on the middle of the shaft, 
(2) the next, some brown on the inner web and (3) the third, black on the inner 
web’s edge. I have examined 30 specimens as regards these characters and I 
find the following results : 
Character (1) Present in 23 out of 28 
(2) „ „ 5 „ 28 
(3) „ „ 15 „ 24 
In only 4 out of 27 do the alleged characters hold good in aU three feathers, 
in only one do they fail in all three. On the other hand in M. cinerea cinerea 
I find — 
Character (1) Present in 1 out of 9 
(2) „ „ 1 „ 9 
(3) „ „ 7 „ 9 
Hence it is obvious that characters (2) and (3) are useless and character 
(1) is of some slight help together with the length of tail in distinguishing these 
races. 
30 specimens of melanope measure : — Tail 88-95, and 9 of cinerea 98-1 10 mm. 
Besides a wide breeding distribution in Asia, this bird breeds in the Safed 
Koh, (just over the N. W. Frontier) and in the Himalayas. 
