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Show 222 MESSRS. BLANFORD AND DRESSER ON [Apr. 21, this with certainty. The same remark applies to several other species, especially S. melanoleuca, erythraa, and deserti. Hab. South-western Europe, including Italy and north-western Africa. It is occasionally found in Germany, and occurs as a straggler in Egypt and the Levant. 5. SAXICOLA MELANOLEUCA. Muscicapa melanoleuca, Guld. Nov. Com. Petr. xix. p. 468, pi. 15 (1775). Saxicola xanthomelana, Ehr. Symb. Phys. fol. aa (1829). Saxicola eurymelana, Ehr. torn. cit. fol. bb (1829). Saxicola albicilla, V. Mull. Naumannia, 1851, iv. p. 28. Saxicola hendersoni, Hume, Ibis, 1871, p. 480. Saxicola talas, Severtzoff, Turkest. Jevotn. p. 119, pi. viii. figs. 1, 3, 4 (1873). In plumage this species passes through the same changes as its close ally S. rufa, and only differs from that bird in having the black on the throat extended much further down ; and as a rule the males have the white portions of the plumage much purer. In many old males the feathers on the crown and sometimes on the back are considerably worn, the blackish grey basal portion showing very distinctly. Hab. South-eastern Europe as far west as Malta; Northeastern Africa ; Asia Minor, Persia, and Yarkand. 6. SAXICOLA ERYTHRAA. Saxicola erythraa, Ehr. Symb. Phys. fol. cc (1829). Saxicola halophila, Trist. Ibis, 1859, p. 59. Saxicola libanotica, Trist. Ibis, 1867, pp. 91-94, nee Ehr. Saxicola flnschii, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 350. no. 299 (1869). Adult male. Crown, nape, dorsal region, rump, and upper tail-coverts, lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts pure white; sides of the head and neck, throat and upper part of the breast, wings, scapulars, wing-coverts and wing-lining black ; quills brownish black ; secondaries slightly tipped with dull white ; central tail-feathers white on the basal half and black on the terminal portion: other rectrices white, broadly terminated with black, and finally very narrowly tipped with dirty white; bill and legs black ; iris dark brown. Culmen 0*7, wing 3*4, tail 2-35, tarsus 1"05. Young male. Crown, nape, back, and scapulars white, obscured by dull isabelline; wings as in the adult female; tail, throat, and underparts generally as in the adult male. Adult female. Crown, back, and scapulars dull brownish grey or dust-colour; rump and upper tail-coverts white; quills blackish brown, narrowly margined with dull fulvous; wing-coverts similar, but blacker; tail as in the adult male, but rather duller in colour ; superciliary region lighter than the rest of the head ; throat, sides of the neck, and auriculars black, considerably obscured by light dusty |