206 
Mr. W. E. Brooks on some 
XVIII .—A few Observations on some Species of Anthus and 
Budytes. By W. Edwin Brooks. 
Anthus blakistoni, Swinho e=A. neglectus, Brooks. 
This Pipit was first described by Mr. Swinhoe (P. Z. S, 1863, 
p. 90). The description is correct as far as colour of plumage 
is concerned; but the bmPs legs and feet are conspicuously 
lighter in colour than those of Anthus spinoletta. My term 
of “brown” is better than Mr. Swinhoe's of “blackish brown.” 
The legs and feet of Mr. Swinhoe’s examples, however, may 
have dried rather dark. I noted the colour from the fresh 
birds. The total length given by Mr. Swinhoe is clearly 
wrong; so also with regard to length of wing. I have shot 
about forty examples; and the greatest total length observed 
was 6*3, the longest wing 3*4, longest tail 2*65. 
In the f Proceedings 5 of the Zoological Society for 1871, 
p. 365, Mr. Swinhoe referred his A. blakistoni to A. spino- 
letta; and Mr. Dresser, in his f Birds of Europe/ repeated the 
identification. This I accepted as correct; and knowing that 
my Anthus neglectus was as distinct from A. spinoletta as one 
Pipit could well be from another, I described the former as 
new in f The Ibis* for October 1876, p. 501. 
The fall of Anthus seebohmi led me to think further about 
my Pipit; and a few days ago I saw Mr. Swinhoe, who kindly 
showed me his specimen of Anthus blakistoni. This I found, 
beyond all doubt, to be identical in size and colour with my 
A. neglectus, which name must therefore sink to the rank of 
a synonym. 
I was able to show Mr. Swinhoe a good series of my bird, 
sufficient to convince him that Anthus blakistoni is a smaller 
Water-Pipit than Anthus spinoletta , and differently marked 
on both the back and the breast. 
A third good species of Water-Pipit is Anthus japonicus, 
T. & S. This is a large bird like A. spinoletta , the back 
greyish and indistinctly marked; but its breast is much tinged 
with reddish buff, and the spots are large and beautifully dis¬ 
tinct. Anthus spinoletta and A. blakistoni lose their breast- 
