flock of fourteen, which they imagine must have been bred in
the vicinity, were seen near Coburg at the end of October many
years ago, and that two of them were taken. In the same district,
the eldest Brelim also mentions (Journ. für Orn. 18G2,
p. 38G) an old female killed October 10th, 1817. Dr. Borg-
greve quotes Prediger Böck for its occurrence at Danzig. Dr.
Zander, in 1863, recorded two obtained in Mecklenburg—one
at Penzlin many years before, the other at Wismar since, and
it is said to have occurred in that duchy not unfrequently.
Herr von Negelein (Naumannia, 1853, p. 56) mentions one
taken in a snare near Oldenburg in 1847, and preserved in the
Museum there, while a second was supposed to have been seen
at Blankenburg. Dr. Kjaerbölling says that a specimen in the
Copenhagen Museum was shot in 1822 at Herlufmagle,
in Denmark. Dr. Rudolf Blasius in 1862 announced to the
Geiman Ornithologists’ Society that one had been snared at
Göttingen. Herr von Kettner states that it occurs, though
iaiely, in the Black Forest, and Dr. Zander says the same of
it in W ürtemberg, where he was inclined to think it might
breed. Pastor Jäckel mentions (Journ. für Orn. 1854, p. 491)
one killed in Bavaria, at the end of June, 1853, and now in
the Museum at Ratisbon. The elder Dubois speaks of one
brought to market at Namur in October, 1844. In the
autumn of 1848, according to De Lamotte (Rev. Zool. 1848,
p. 318) one was killed at Abbeville; and MM. Jaubert and
Barthelemy-Lapommeraye record the occurrence of two near
Marseilles—one at St. Marcel in October, 1834, the other
brought to market somewhat later. Finally, Prof. Savi long
ago announced the capture of an adult near Turin in January,
1826, and now preserved in the Museum there.
The confusion, already mentioned, of the Black-throated
with other Thrushes, has naturally led to some perplexity
about its right name. Naumann for some time believed that
a biid described in 1795 by Bechstein as Turdus dubiiis was
the young of this Thrush, and, not liking so inapplicable an
epithet for a very good species, proposed, in 1822, to call it
r. bechsteini. This view was always contested by Brehm,
who refened 1. dubius to the bird commonly known as
T. naumanni; and finally, Naumann abandoned his belief
and adopted the name T. a trigularis, which has a clear priority
—though who should be considered its donor is not so
certain. The German ornithologists generally ascribe the
name to Natterer, who is said, and probably with truth, to
have been the first to recognize and point out the characters
of the species ; but all seem to admit that he never published
any notice of it, and thus his claim to acknowledgment
must yield to that of Temminck, as previously quoted.
The foregoing figure and the following description of
this species are taken from a Siberian specimen in the
Museum of the University of Cambridge:—Above, almost
uniform olive-grey, rather darker on the head, and having
a slightly rufous tinge on, the quills, the shafts of which are
liver-brown. Lores and ear-coverts blackish; above the
eye a short dirty-white streak. Chin dirty white ; throat
and chest dull brownish-black, the feathers edged and tipped
with dirty white; breast and belly dull white with ill-defined
dusky streaks; lower tail-coverts white varied by irregular
and suffused streaks of reddish-brown ; flanks dull liair-
brown ; axillaries and lower wing-coverts dull reddish-
orange ; quills beneath brownish-grey. Whole length about
nine inches and a h a lf: wing from the carpal joint five inches
and three-eighths. Mr. Jerdon states that the bill is yellow,
dusky at the t ip ; the orbits yellow; the legs lioney-yellow-
brown ; the irides dark brown.
Col. Tytler (Ibis, 1869, p. 124) gives descriptions of five
specimens—two adult and two young males, and one adult
female, whence it w'ould appear that the old males have an
almost black gorget, while this part in the younger males
and the female is more or less varied by dull white, and in
the last the markings beneath are more clearly defined.*
* Mr. Bond possesses a specimen of Turdus sibiricus, sold to him some years
ago by a dealer who said it was shot in Surrey. He considered it a dark variety
of the Redwing, and such it was thought to be until its true character was recognized
by Mr. Blyth. This is another of those eastern species which frequently
find their way to western Europe, and there seems no reason why the man’s story
should not be true. The absence of all details of the bird’s capture in this
country may, however, excuse any further mention of it here.