.SOME NOTES ON GAME BIRDS IN MESOPOTAMIA. 487 



[Several corrospoiKleiits have remarked on the dift'erence of the call of the 

 Black Partridges in India anil Mesopotamia. In this connection it is inter- 

 esting to draw attention to some remarks by Dr. Hartert of the Zoological 

 Mnsenm, Tring, on Fra7walinus francolinua {z= Franc dmus rith/ciris of the 

 Fauna) in the last number of Novitates Zoological, Vol. XXIV, pp. 288- 

 290). From these notes it would appear that the Black Partridge in- 

 habiting Sind. Baluchistan, South Eastern and Southern Persia to Fao 

 and Bagdad belongs to a different race to that found in North- Western 

 India. The former is called F. francolinus hennci and is a much paler bird 

 than the latter, which Dr. Hartert says should go by the name of F. f. 

 asi(e. The Black Partridge ranging from " easternmost Nepal to Assam, 

 Manipur, Dacca, jMaunbhoom" differs in the barring of the rump besides 

 other peculiarities, which were noticed by Hume in 1899 ( vide Stray 

 Feathers, XI, p. 305). This race is called F. f. ^nelanonoius. — Eds.] 



7. Common Crane — Grus communis. 



Seen in fair numbers on Suweikieh Marsh. 



8. Demoiselle Crane — Anthropoides virgo. 



Seen in fair numbers on Suweikieh Marsh. 



9. Great Bustard — Otis tarda. 



Seven seen just S. of the Wadi in the first week of March, but 

 was unable to get within 500 yards of them and could not say 

 whether they were European or Indian." 



10. Little Bustard or Butterfly Houbara — Otis tetrax. 



Four seen about 3 miles S.-E. of the Wadi during the 3rd week 

 of March. 



11. Houbara — Houbara macqueeni. 



Fairly plentiful. Seemed to leave Hanna district early in April 

 and return in early August. 



They remained round Samarra throughout the hot weather, 1917, 

 and were breeding there. 



12. Woodcock — Scolopax rusticula. 



One flew into a camp on the bend of the river one mile below 

 Falahiyeh at dusk on the 6th October. The camp was in Tama- 

 risk scrub about 2^ to 3 foot high. No one had a gun to shoot it 

 with. 



One crossed the river at dawn on 11th November about 300 yards 

 upstream of the camp. It flew straight over my bed not 15 yards 

 from me, and pitched in some scrub about a mile away. To get to 

 the spot one had to go round by the bridge, a total distance of 3 

 miles, and though I went off' at once we could not tind the bird. 



13. Solitary or Great Snipe — Gallinayo major. 



A small patch of flooded wheat and coarse grass near Harbe in 

 April 1917 seemed to be full of these birds. 



I came on the patch after sunset on the 10th April, and shot one 

 Common and one Solitary Snipe and missed several others. On 

 the 11th two of us shot two, lost two more in the thick grass and 

 missed two others. There were more than ten birds, all Solitary 

 Snipe as far as one could see. but there being no other cover they 

 at once made ofi" and circled high and disappeared in a Northern 

 direction. 



* The Great Indian Bustard E- edwardsi is not found outside India. — Eds. 



