562 Mr. II. F. Witherby— Ornithological 



3000 ft.). This individual was the only one that ever came 

 within shot of me, and at the time I was carrying a *410 

 bore. 



128. Astur brevipes Severtz. 



Astur (Micronisus) brevipes Severtz. ; Blanf. t. c. p. 109. 



309. $ ad. May 17th, near Aliabad (7300 ft.). 



417. tf juv. June lGth, near Sadat (7200 ft.). 



In the young bird the brown mesial markings of the 

 breast-feathers are at first drop-shaped, but by the abrasion 

 of the feathers they become lance-shaped before the first 

 moult takes place. 



Dr. Blanlbrd did not obtain this Hawk in Persia, but he 

 presumed that a Sparrow-Hawk noted by Major St. John as 

 a bird of passage there was A. brevipes. 



The bird evidently breeds in this part of Persia, but must, 

 I think, be rare. The female had the ovaries well developed, 

 and the young bird was scarcely able to fly. 



129. ^Circus ^eruginosus Linn.; Blanf. t. c. p. 110. 



A pair of Marsh-Harriers were swooping at one another 

 playfully in the marsh at Dasht-i-arjan on April 7th. The 

 place was in every way suitable for them to breed. 



130. "^Circus macrurus (Gm.); Blanf. t. c. p. 110; Sharpe, 

 Ibis, 1886, p. 476. 



I saw a few Pallid Harriers in the plains up to 3000 ft. 



131. *Gyps fulvus Gmel. ; Blanf. t. c. p. 99. 



The Griffon was nowhere numerous, probably owing to 

 the scarcity of carrion. The only places in which it was at 

 all common were the " kotals," or steep ladder-like passes, on 

 the road between Bushire and Shiraz. These passes are so 

 steep, and so many thousand heavily laden animals are driven 

 up and down them, that they provide a continual supply of 

 carcases for carrion-eaters. 



The reason given by Dr. Blanford for large birds being so 

 very wild in Persia still holds good. The Persians, and 

 especially the Iliyats, use every large bird that comes in 

 sight as a target for their rifles. 



