THE IBIS. 



SIXTH SERIES. 



No. XV. JULY 1892. 



XXIX. — On the Birds of East Prussia. 

 By Ernst Hartert. — Part I. 



It is my hope that it will not be without interest for the 

 readers of ' The Ibis ' to peruse some short remarks on the 

 birds of a part of Germany which I tried for several years 

 to explore, and which is still not only the least known of 

 all parts of Germany, but also the most interesting one as 

 regards its ornis. This latter statement is proved to be 

 beyond doubt when I mention the names of three birds 

 Avhich regularly breed in East Prussia — Carpodacus ery- 

 thrinus, Nucifraga caryocatactes, and Syrnium uralense, all 

 of which I have had opportunities of observing in their 

 breeding-haunts. 



So little is generally known about the birds of East 

 Prussia that English ornithologists, in their writings, hardly 

 ever recognize the existence of this large province, so full 

 of bird-life. Even Mr. Seebohm, in his great work, 'A 

 History of British Birds,^ w^hich contains so many good 

 notes about German birds from the author's own experience, 

 generally ignores that country. Thus, for instance, he 

 states that Aquila navia " breeds in North Germany 

 from Hanover to Danzig," while this bird is equally or 



SER. VI. VOL. IV. 2 A 



