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MOTACILLA DUKHUNENSIS, sytes
Deccan Wagtail.

Motacilla Dukhunensis, Sykes in Proc. of Comm. of Sci. and Corr.
Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 137 ?—Ad

alba, Burgess, MSS.

Dhobin of the Hindoos, Jerdon.

of Zool. Soc., part ul. p. 91.—Blyth, Cat. of
ams in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xxvi. p. 486?

 

Tue Wagtail represented in the accompanying Plate is very common in the Deccan and in the western

parts of the peninsula of India. It is certainly the bird described under the name of Dukhunensis by Col.
Sykes, and is moreover identical with the specimens brought to this country by Captain Burgess, on which
point Lam able to speak with certainty, as I possess several of the examples, both in summer and winter
plumage, which were procured by that gentleman, who, in some MS. notes kindly presented to me by him,
in furtherance of the present work, says, “ Since 1847 I have seen plenty of the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla
alba)—not the Pied Wagtail of England, but that which apparently is only found on the Continent. They
appear to arrive in the cold season, as I never observed them during the monsoon.” It is not, however,
the bird referred to by Mr. Blyth, in his paper on the Motacillide, under the name of Dukhunensis,
inasmuch as he describes the bird as having the neck black all round in the summer dress ;. his description,

te)

in fact, has reference, not to this species, but to a very different one, to which I have given the name of
personata, and of which I have never seen examples, either from the Deccan, or from any other of the
western parts of India. It may be the bird referred to by Dr. Adams as an inhabitant of Cashmere ; but
of this I have no positive evidence, not having seen his specimens; and, in all probability, is the one
mentioned by Mr. Blyth under the name of J£ a/éa as inhabiting Western Asia. The 12. Dukhunensis and
M. alba are indeed most nearly allied, and by some persons may be considered as mere local varieties ; still
there are differences by which they may readily be distinguished. The Indian bird is rather larger in
size, and has much more white on the secondaries and greater wing-coverts than its European prototype,
which differences are so constant that the practised ornithologist can at once distinguish them. Whether
distinct or not, a bird so common, and playing so conspicuous a part in the Fauna of Western India,
must have a place in a work on the ‘ Birds of Asia.’

In the summer, the forehead, the sides of the head and the sides of the neck are white ; the occiput and
back of the neck, chin, throat and breast are deep velvety black ; all the upper surface grey, deepening into
black on the apical portions of the tail-coverts; wings ashy brown, the coverts and secondaries margined
with white; two outer tail-feathers white, margined on the basal half of their internal webs with black ;
remainder of the tail-feathers black ; under surface white, washed with grey on the flanks; irides brown ;
bill and feet blackish brown.

In the winter the black of the throat is reduced to a crescentic mark across the breast, the points ex-
tending upwards towards the ear-coverts. ie eg ae ee

The principal figures in the accompanying Plate, which are a trifle smaller than life, repres

summer dress ; the upper figure that of winter.