ERITHACUS.
Like " Luscinia " hut tail square or slightly emargi nate, middle tail feathers usually slightly shorter than the rest.
Erithacus rubecula rubecula (L.). REDBREAST. Fr. Rouge -gorge ; Ger. Rothkchlchen ; Ital. Pettirosso ; Swed. Rodhake-Sfmgaren.
8' 9 Above olive brown, upper tail coverts slightly rusty brown ; frontal band, face, throat, and breast orange red ; abdomen white ; sides of neck and breast blue grey ; flanks tinged olive brown. Bill blackish brown, pale below at base. Legs and feet brown. Wing e 9 68-73. Tarsus 24-26. Bill 8-1o. Young : no red breast, brown above with yellowish spots, buff below with dark markings.
Breeds.—Continental Europe north to about Arctic Circle, east to Urals ; and S.W. Siberia, Sicily, Azores. Resident Madeira, Gomera, Hierro, (Canary Islands). Partial migrant elsewhere ; occurs on passage Britain, Mediterranean Coasts and Egypt, N.\V. Africa. Many winter S. and C. Europe.
E. rubecula melophilus Hartert. Above darker and more olive with a rufous tinge ; beneath orange red much darker, olive brown of flanks deeper and broader leaving less white on abdomen ; upper tail coverts rufous brown. Wing d 7o-77, 9 I; reeds. — British Isles, Portugal. Partial migrant ; has occurred in winter Italy, N.\V. Africa, Algeria ; and "ringed birds" S. Holland and S.W. France.
E. rubecula. sardus Kleinschmidt. Darker above than "rubecula," more olive coloured, upper tail coverts like back. Precds.—Sardinia and Corsica.
E. rubecula witherbyi Hartert. Close to "melophilus" but upper parts more as in " rubecula" and not so dark as "sardus" ; breast as in "melophilus." Wing j 68-71, ? 67-69.
Breeds.—Tunisia, NipAlgeria, N. Morocco, S. Spain.
E. rubecula atlas Lynes. Upper parts including rump dark earthy olive green. Bill longer. May prove to be identical with " witherbyi." Breeds.—Middle Atlas, Morocco.
E. rubecula superbus Koenig. Above darker than "rubec ula," less rufous than "melophilus" ; orange red of throat and breast very dark ; inner margins of quills yellowish. Wing 65-72 (H.).
Resident.—Tenerife, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands).
E. rubecula caucasicus Buturlin. Greyer and less olive above than "rubecula" ; upper tail coverts reddish ; bill longer than in "rubecula." Is intermediate between "rubecula" and "E. r. hyrcanus" of N. Persia.
Breeds. —Caucasus. Occurs in winter in Transcaucasia.
E. rubeculs. xanthothorax Salvadori and Festa. Olive brown above like "sardus" but upper tail coverts rusty ; red of breast and forehead yellower.
Breeds.—Rhodes ; possibly other Greek Islands.