Lanius excubitor and Lanius major. 37 
E. Specimens in Winter Plumage (December to February). 
a. Typical L. major. 
Two males. —Traces of vermiculations. In one the basal 
spot on the secondaries absolutely wanting, in the other 
indicated by a white point (3 mm.) on a single feather. Aker, 
21st Dec., 1872; 10th Feb., 1885. 
L. excubitor , in its most typical form, i. e. having the two 
wing-spots well developed, therefore occurs at all seasons of 
the year, and in both sexes ; this is the case even with young in 
the early autumn, nay, even in their first plumage (“ nesting- 
plumage^), at least with the males. 
In the autumn traces of the vermiculations become per¬ 
ceptible, save in the case of exceptional specimens (probably 
old birds). In the spring and summer the transverse bands, 
as a rule, disappear. 
The size of the black spot on the outermost tail-feather 
varies exceedingly, but most frequently is smaller than in the 
dark form (“L. major”). 
A transition-form to L. homeyeri, or an individual exhibit¬ 
ing a surplus of white, was a male in spring. 
“L. major ” in its typical form, without the slightest trace 
of any basal spot on the secondaries, may likewise, it would 
seem, occur at all seasons of the year, and in both sexes, as 
also in the nest-plumage; the majority, however, have proved 
to be females. 
The vermiculations across the abdomen are frequently 
retained in this form ; they had, however, as with L. ex¬ 
cubitor, disappeared in the two spring specimens—one a male, 
the other a female—and in one autumn specimen, a male. 
On the other hand, they were present in a female with 
summer plumage. 
The intermediate forms have, as a general rule, been autumn 
examples; one only, approximating very closely the typical 
L. major, was a male in the spring. Of these autumn indi¬ 
viduals, two stood equally near to both forms, one approxi¬ 
mated closely the typical L. excubitor, and one exhibited a 
remarkable surplus of reddish grey (transition to L. borealis). 
