352 M. Meiizbier on the 



XXXV. — On the Birds of the Upper Tarim, Kashgaria. 

 By M. Menzbier. 



Since my return from Western Europe I have been favoured 

 •with an inspection of a small but interesting collection of 

 birds formed in the district of the Upper Tarim river, in 

 Kashgaria, presented by Messrs. Majev and Wilkins to the 

 University of Moscow. As I believe some of the species 

 represented therein to be of very great importance, I take 

 this opportunity of bringing a list of the birds before the 

 notice of ornithologists. 



The district of the Upper Tarim was previously quite un- 

 known from an ornithological point of view. The Lower 

 Tarim was explored by Col. Prjevalsky. The desert south- 

 ward from Kashgar and Kashgar-Darja lias been visited by 

 the English expeditions, and the fauna of the vast mountain- 

 system of the Tian-shan was studied by the late Mr. Severtzov; 

 but no ornithologist had visited the country of thcTaushkan- 

 Darja before the above-mentioned expedition of Messrs. Majev 

 and "Wilkins. All the specimens mentioned in our list were 

 obtained by the last-named gentlemen along the route from 

 Kyzil-bulak (soutliw^ards from the Muzart gorge, lat. 41° 45' 

 and long. 80° 50'), to Ulugchat (lat. 39° 45' and long. 74° 20'j, 

 and on the river Uital, during the months of September, 

 October, and November. The average height of this north- 

 western border of the tablelands of Central Asia is from 

 3000 to 6000 feet above the sea-level. Along the southern 

 slopes of the Koushaal-tan there is no sharp limit between 

 the tableland and the mountain-country. Southwards from 

 tlie Taushkan-Darja, as far as the middle of the route be- 

 tween Kujuk-tokai and Kashgar, the plateau reaches more 

 than 6000 feet. But we find througliout the whole of the 

 Upper Tarim the uniform character of the tableland of 

 Central Asia, and, as our list shows, we have in it only a part 

 of the Central-Asian ornithological district. 



I now proceed to notice the s})ecies represented in the 

 collection : — 



