Subdivision of the Species Emberiza Rustica Into Geographical Races

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SUBDIVISION OF THE SPECIES EMBERIZA RUSTICA INTO GEOGRAPHICAL RACES.

BY LEONIDAS PORTENKO.

A STWOYof the specimensin the collectionof the Zoloogical Museum,Academy of Sciences,U.S. S. R., has convincedme of the existenceof at least two geographicalraces, i.e. subspecies, of the Rustic Bunting.

1. grabsriss rustics rustics Pall.

In Pallas's 'R else dutch verschiedene Provinzen des Rusziscben Reichs'St.-Pet., 1776, III, p. 698,occurs the followingdiagnosis• "MagnitudoSchaenicli. Caputnigrum, fasciis tribus longitudinal- ibus albis, quarum una per medium verticem, lateralessupra- oculares;gula quoque alba. Cervixhumerlque ferruginei; Dorsum passerinicoloris. Subtusalba, jugulopunctis testaceis. Rectrlces utrinque2 extimaeoblique albae." In the abovequoted, original descriptionof Pallasthe only referenceto the distributionof the. speeiesis as follows:"In salicetisDauuriae jam Marrio mense frequens."As the RusticBunting passes on migrationfrom west to east and vice versa, it followsthat the birds on passagemet with in Dauria breedin the westernpegions of their range,and henceit may be assumedthat the specimendescribed by Pallas was a migratory bird with a wall marked stripe on the crown. This characterwould seem to denotea westernspecimen in which the crownis duller,being brown, not shiningblack, as in the eastern bird. Description:Adult male.--Bill g6nerallyshorter, weak, with a narrowertip. From tip to anteriormargin of nostril77-84 min. Wing 74-79 min. Crownor "cap" brownishblack, the feathers alwaysbearing traces of buff on the edges,and tippedwith white. Loresand ear covertsalso tipped with whitish. On chin between rami of mandiblethere is very occasionallypresent a conspicuous tuft of blackplumes, in mostcases completely lacking. The bay tint of the crowndepends upon the stateof wearof the feathers, 2O6 PARTENKO,Emberiza rustica and its Races. [AprilAuk but may be generallysaid to be of a more decidedtone. Band acrosschest narrow, about 0.75 cm., its upper border sometimes markedwith black, ill definedspots. Scapularswith very narrow medianstripes. Bay streakson flanks relatively not sowell marked. Femalenot so well distinguished.In most casesthe bill is per- ceptiblyweaker, band acrosschest narrower, markings on flanks fainter. Juvenalbirds are well characterised,being of a more vivid bay. Range.--Breedingbirds from the governmentsof Pskov,Lenin- grad,Olanets, Volagda and Archangel,as well asfrom the northern Ural (Telpos-is). This subspeciesbreeds likewise in the Altai. I having seenbreeding birds from north-easternAltai (dividebetween Kaizas and Kanzas, sourcesof the Klyk) in the collectionof the late P. P. Sushkin. Breedingspecimens from the Krasnoyarsk district and the upper courseof the Lower Tunguska(in the Kir- enskdistrict of the Irkutsk got, the Okshi range) are preservedin the Academycollection; specimens of birds on migrationfrom all parts of the breedingrange referred to, and also from the Minusinsk district, Nizhneudinsk,Irkutsk, Kultuk on the Baikal and Kulusutaevsk. Southof this zonethe Rustic Buntingis very seldommet with either on migration,or as a straggler. To such belongspecimens from the Crimea,Moscow government, Buzuluk district of Samara gvt., Sterlitamak district of Upa gvt., the neighborhoodof Orenburg,Omsk, Turgai province (lake Ak-ta- sty-kul), Tashkentdistrict and Kulja. The April specimensfrom the extensivecollection of L. M. Shulpin from the Ussuri I could not always identify correctly on accountof the moulting of the crown feathers. Apparentlybirds of the precedingyear don a new cap in spring,but whether that is the casewith all individuals and relatesto both subspeclesI am unable to say.

2. Emberiza rustica latifascia subsp.nova. Emberizae rusticae typicae, quae per Europam borealemSibir- iamqueoeeidentalem nidulat, simillima,sed rostra longiore,valid- lore, coloresaturatiore distinguenda est. Mas vetrice capiris,laris teetrieibusqueaurium saturatis nee et fuseente atris; inter ramus mandibulaepiloturn faseieulo nigro; peetorefascia latiore, in mar- gine superioreet nigreseentemaeulosa eineto; hypochandrius valde Vø11929•VIII PARTENKO,Emberiza rustlea and its Races. 207 striatisdiffert. A timnineLena usquead Kamtschatkamet insulas Aleuticasnidulatur. Terra typica: Kamtschatka. Typus:c• nearKluchi in Kamchatka12. VI. 1909. Paratypus:9 near Kluchi in Kamchatka2. VI. 1909. Deseription.--Adultmale in nuptialplumage. Bill longerwith wider tip. From tip to anterior margin of nostril 81-92 ram. Wing 76-82 ram. Crown pure black with scarcelyperceptible bluish sheenas in penthestespalustrls. Lares and ear covertsof the samepure black. A conspicuouswhite streak above and behind the eye, but never extendingforward above the lares. Between the rami of the mandible occurs a small tuft of black hairlike plumes. The bay of the crowninclines to terracottarather than to russet. Band acrossthe breastdistinctly wider, about 1.2 cm. Its upperborder usually shows several blackish spots. Scapulars with wider medianstripes. The flanksare much more distinctly marked,the streaksbeing wider. Female,especially the crown, darker than the typical fo rm . Band acrossthe breast wider. Markings on flanks better developed. Tip of bill wider. Juvenalbirds darker as is well evidencedfrom a comparisonof seriesof specimens. Range.--Breedingspecimens from Yakutsk district, regionsof Verkhoyanskand Verkhne-Kolymsk,Kamchatka, and Bering, Copper,St. Paul and AleutianIslands. Migratory birds from Taishet, Irkutsk gvt., Olekminsk,Ayan, Amur Province,Ussuri land, South China and Tsaicham. Birds with mixed characters,i.e. transitional between the two subspecies,obtained during migration from the uppercourse of the Middle Tunguzka (the Katanga), neighborhoodof Olekminsk, Kultuk on the Baikal, and the Little Khingan. Zool. Museum, Academyof Sciences, Leningrad, 5r. S.S. R.