Russia north of the Caucasus. 289 



Falcon breeds on the Kanin peninsula, and I think that the 

 H. gyrfalco of Mr. Meves is really H. uralensis. Mr. Goebel 

 informs us that it is resident near Pinega. Probably it is 

 the same species which was observed several times on Novaja 

 Zemlja. According to Hoffmann the Ural Jer- Falcon breeds 

 near Ust-Ussa (lat. 66°). On the authority of Mr. Sabaneev 

 it is found in the districts of Krasnoutimsk and Ufa, but is 

 no longer met with in the districts of Karslinsk and Kashtym, 

 where it was formerly known. According to Eversmann 

 the Ural Falcon used to breed from 1850 to 1860 in the 

 mountains near the Bclaja river, and probably breeds there 

 still. Dr. Finsch met with a specimen, which probably was 

 the Ural Jer- Falcon, near Perm. During the winter the 

 bird has been obtained as far south as the Government of 

 Orenburg and the Obschy-Syrt, and as far west as the 

 Governments of Vladimir and Orel. 



HiEKOFALCO SAKER. 



The Saker Falcon breeds regularly in the steppes of 

 Southern Russia, and occasionally in the southern and 

 eastern portions of Middle Russia ; but it is a rare and acci- 

 dental visitor to the central portions of the couutry, and 

 has never been obtained in the northern Governments. 



According to Mr. Sabaneev it is fouud in the districts of 

 Kamischlov and Shadrinsk. In the branches of the Ural as 

 well as in the steppes near them it is not uncommon. In 

 the steppes near the Ural river, the Middle and Lower Volga, 

 this bird is not rare, still breeding there on the islands of the 

 Volga and in the Sarpa hills. But at Astrakhan the Saker 

 is rare and probably only found during migration, though 

 more to the south, in the valleys of the Terek and the Kuban, 

 it is said by Eogdanov to be common. It breeds and is not 

 uncommon in the Governments of Saratov, Voronesh, Khar- 

 kov, Kiev, and Chernigov, has been several times observed 

 in the Government of Kazan (probably only in the southern 

 part of that country) and Tula, and still breeds in the 

 Government of Orel ; but we do not know the distribution 

 of this bird in the Governments of Riazari, Tambov, and 



