1^21.] Birds in South liiissSa. 4b3 



He informed me that the following subs})ecies have 

 already heen described and recognised by the Russians : — 



Coccothraustes coceotliraustes nigricans. 



Frinyilla coslehs solomki. 



Fringilla carduelis nikolski. 



Cldoris chloris mensfieri. 



Picxis major pinetorum. 



Cyanistes caeruleus hrauneri. 



Acredida rosea taurica. 



Stnrnus vulgaris tauricits. 



Certhia certhia huturlini. 



Troglodytes parvulns liyrcanvs. 

 Of the foregoing I obtained skins of the Chaffinch 

 {^ Mackenzie Heights, 20. vi. 20, and ? Mackenzie Heights, 

 20. vi. 20), Greenfinch ( S Mackenzie Heights, 21. vi. 20), and 

 Blue Tit ( ? Mackenzie Heights, 20. vi. 20). The first two 

 Dr. Hartert ussigns, without comment, to Fringilla c. cwlehs 

 and Chloris r. chloris respectively, whilst he finds the last 

 skin to be too bad for identification of the subs))ecies. 



Specimens of the Tree-Pipit (Anthus f. trivialis) and of the 

 Red-backed Shrike {Lanins c. colluiio) * were also obtained 

 in June from the Mackenzie Heights and Inkerman. 



The Bee-eater (^lUerops apiaster) is not uncommon, and 

 was frequently seen perching on telegraph-wires. These 

 birds do not appear to form colonies here as they are said to 

 do in Spain. The Rook (Corvus f. frugilegus) is very 

 common everywhere, and small rookeries are seen all over 

 the Crimea. 



On the steppes there are vast numbers of Larks. The 

 Great Bustard (^Otis tarda} was often met with, and 

 companies of three or four birds were more than once seen 

 circling in ponderous flight over the plain. The Hoopoe 

 ( Upupa e. epops) is a very common species in the Crimea, a 

 few pairs frequenting the vicinity of every village. One 



* Dr. Hartert says of my specimen of the Red-backed Shrike: "There 

 is a supposed Caucasian race, but its characters and distribution are 

 doubtful ; it is supposed to have less rufous on the back and smaller bill, 

 but both characters are quite doubtful and variable. This specimen 

 agrees with some others not from the Caucasus." 



