. British birds. Birds. nOTES. THE HEBRIDEAN SONG-THRUSH. Turduf philomelus hebridensis Clarke. In the Scottish Naturalist \1913, pp. 53-5, PL 1) Mr. W. Eagle Clarke gives a name to the Song-Thrush of the Outer Hebrides and defines its charactei"istics. For this we are very grateful. Mr. Clarke's action crystallizes the vague references to this bird which have been current for years and \Aill enable ornithologists to collate the facts with regard to it which would never have been done had not the bird received a name and had its distinctive characters defined. Mr. Clarke points out that t
. British birds. Birds. nOTES. THE HEBRIDEAN SONG-THRUSH. Turduf philomelus hebridensis Clarke. In the Scottish Naturalist \1913, pp. 53-5, PL 1) Mr. W. Eagle Clarke gives a name to the Song-Thrush of the Outer Hebrides and defines its charactei"istics. For this we are very grateful. Mr. Clarke's action crystallizes the vague references to this bird which have been current for years and \Aill enable ornithologists to collate the facts with regard to it which would never have been done had not the bird received a name and had its distinctive characters defined. Mr. Clarke points out that the most striking feature of this bird is in the great number and intense blackness of the spots on the under-surface. The mantle and \\-ings are dark (clove) brown, the head shghtly redder and the rump and upper tail-coverts olive. The upper-parts appear to be not so reddish as in the British form, and thus more like the Con- tinental bird but darker. There is very little buff on the throat, breast and flanks, even less apparently than in Continental birds. The buff of the under wing-coverts is richer ( redder) than either British or Continental Song- Thrushes. The wing measures from 116 to 120 mm. or about the average of other Song-Thrushes. Mr. Clarke makes as the ty^jes, a pair from Barra obtained on A])ril 24th, 1912 but he does not state whether the descrip- tion refers to these birds, and this is rather important because there is a good deal of difference between a freshly-moulted autumn Song-Thrush and a worn summer-bird. The bird is \\-idely distributed in the Outer Hebrides and so far as our knowledge goes at present it is confined to that group of islands, but we hope that Mr. Clarke w ill state from exactly which islands he has identified specimens and whether any examples have yet been detected op migration. He notes however, that it does not breed in St. Kilda, and that the Song-Thrushes which now nest in woods of recent growth in the grounds of Stornoway Castl
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