COLLECTING ORTHOPTERA IN THE CAUCASUS AND TRANSCAUCASUS. 18 



of the hundred Caucasian tribes, speaking as many languages, all 

 dressed in the common costume of the country, a long cloak or cherkess, 

 with cartridge pouches and the inevitable kinjal, and high fur 

 head-dress. 



The region which I was about to visit is in the valley of the Kura,. 

 a broad, flat plain or steppe, separating the heights of Daghestan on 

 the north, from the Karabagh on the south. The fauna is varied and 

 interesting. The sea retired as recently as the Post-glacial Period, and 

 the fauna and the flora is consequently very young. There are a few 

 forms of mammals peculiar to the Kuro-Araksin area, as the district 

 is called by biologists, from the two rivers that water it, the Kura and 

 the Araksa. These are Hemiechinus callif/oni var. hrachyotis, Satunin,. 

 Gerbillua hurrianae, Jerd., Mm mnscuhix var. tartaricun, Satun., 

 MesocricetKfi var. brandti, Nahring, Alactaija mlliainsi var. scJuindti, 

 Sat., A.elater\eiv. caiicasictis, Nahr., and the native hare, Lepits cyrensis,. 

 Sat., which is common, and on my walks I frequently moved them. 

 The wild boar, Sus srrofa, L., and the gazelle, Gazella siib(/iittiirosa, 

 Giild., and Alpheraky's fox also occur, but I did not have the fortune 

 to see any. The otter, wolf, jackal, hyena, and a lynx, Catolynx cJums,. 

 Giild., are also characteristic mammals. Characteristic birds are the 

 Kestrel, the common Bee-eater, the Persian Bee-eater, the Short-toed 

 Lark, the Caucasian race of the Crested Lark, no less than eight 

 species of Wheatear, Quail, Roller, and a local form of the Jay. One 

 of the most interesting local birds is the Francolin, in Russian turack, 

 AttcKien oni'utalis var. cancasicus, But., which is to-day only found in 

 the Kuro-Araksin area and I frequently flushed them. It is a hand- 

 some bird, not unlike a guinea-fowl in appearance and size, it rises 

 and flies like a partridge, is a good game-bird, and excellent eating. 

 In the neighbouring mountains of Daghestan and Karabagh, larger 

 mammals occur ; bears are common, and the Maral Deer and Lynx 

 pardalinus are found too. But if it will probably surprise most readers 

 to learn that the leopard is well-known in the Caucasus, it will 

 astonish them to know that in the forests of Talysh, on the shores 

 of the Caspian, there still survives the tiger, and a race which 

 is claimed to be finer than the Bengal tiger itself. In the 

 narrower limits of the district of Aresh, in which Geok-Tapa is 

 situated, there are several interesting reptiles. Clemmys caspica, Gm,, 

 is exceedingly common, and when strolling along the canals, it is a 

 common sight to see these not inelegant tortoises dive into the water. 

 They are preyed upon by the storks, which devour quantities of the 

 young ones, and the vulture {Neophron peraiopterun), which attacks 

 even adult specimens. A rather rarer species of aquatic tortoise is 

 Eniys orbicularis, L. The land tortoise of this region is Testudo ibera, 

 Pall., and this is very abundant. In spite of the late time of year, I 

 had the curious experience of seeing a pair in copula, the only occasion 

 on which this sluggish animal makes a noise ; the excited male utters 

 a squeaky cry like that of a new born babe. The process has been 

 described in detail by Shelkovnikoft" {Mitth. Katik. Mits., vi., p. 217, 

 1911). There are several species of lizard. Ayama caucasia, Eichw., 

 occurs occasionally in the hills of Boz-dagh. OpJiisairrns apiis, Pall., 

 is one of the " common objects of the steppe," but the Grass Snake is 

 a rarity. Lacsrta viridis, L., var. strigata, Eichw., is common in the 

 cultivated parts, and L. saxicola var. yracilis, Mich., with Ophiops 



