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MERULA JO U Y I {Stejneger).
JOTJY’S OUZEL.
Turdus otiscurus (pt., nee Gm.), Jouy, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. vi. p. 227 (1883).
Merula obscura (pt.), Blakist. Chrysanth. 1883, p. 34.
Turdus chrysolaus (pt., nec Temm.), Blakist. Chrysanth. 1883, Febr., sub No. 263.
Turdus jouyi, Stejn. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. x. p. 4 (1887),
Similis M. chrysolao, sed rostro breviore, et axillaribus griseis rufo lavatis distinguenda.
D r . S te jn e g e r , in describing this species from the main island of Hondo in Japan, says that it is
“ similar to T. clvrysolaus, but the bill is smaller, and the axillaries and the greater under wing-
coverts are strongly suffused with rusty.”
He further writes:—“ This form has the bill nearly as small as in T. olscurus, and the breeding
birds at least, in a general way, more resemble the latter bird than T. chrysolaus; they are easily
distinguished, however, by the different wing-formula and the absence of distinct white markings
on the sides of the head.
“ Undoubtedly Jouy’s Thrush is more closely allied to T. chrysolaus. The smallness of the
bill, however, is at once apparent, and the coloration of the axillaries and. under wing-coverts is
considerably different, showing, as it does, a strong suffusion of the rusty color of the flanks, while
in T. chrysolaus the axillaries and greater wing-coverts are pure grey. The two species seem
also to differ in the coloration of the throat. In the adult m'ale birds of T. chrysolaus the feathers
of this part are uniform sooty-black clear to the greyish base, and more or less mingled with rusty,
according to the season. In T.jouyi the sexes seem not to differ in this respect, for both birds
of the breeding pair which Mr. Jouy collected have the throat pure white, streaked with dusky, and
there can be no doubt that both these birds are adult. They possess, moreover, a faint trace of a
superciliary stripe behind the eye, and, on the whole, present features somewhat intermediate
between the two old species, without, however, forming any connecting-link between them.
“ A bird of the year, collected by Mr. Jouy at Tokio, on March 1, 1883,1 refer with some doubt
to the present form. I t has, however, the small bill and the axillaries strongly tinged with
rusty, in these respects differing from a bird of corresponding age and undoubtedly referable
to T. chrysolaus. The greater richness of the rusty and olive color I take to be due to season.”
Seebohm did not believe in the distinctness of Merula jouyi, as will be seen by his remarks
(Birds Japan. Emp. p. 48):—
“ Dr. Stejneger has described what he supposes to be a new species of Thrush from the
mountains north of Yokohama, under the name of Turdus jouyi (Stejneger, Proc. United States
Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 4). I t is said to have a smaller bill, and to be more or less suffused with
chestnut on the axillaries and under wing-coverts. The examples obtained were a breeding pair,
but both appear to have been in female plumage. They were probably birds of the previous year
of Merula chrysolaus, possibly of a late brood, and more immature than usual. The colour of the
axillaries is more liable to variation than some other parts. In Merula fuscata it varies from pale