Birds of Foochow and Swatow. 407 



given me by the French missionaries, and from the few 

 specimens obtained by my boy, it is likely that many species 

 not previously known to inhabit this corner of China, and 

 possibly new to science, would be discovered, were the 

 country properly explored. 



The climate of Swatow is dry, and is far healthier than 

 that of Foochow. The summer heat is not so exhausting as 

 that of many parts of China situated further north, but it 

 lasts for nearly six months of the year, from May to the end 

 of October. November, December, and January are cool ; 

 and during these three months rain hardly ever falls, except 

 perhaps towards the end of January, and the weather is then 

 almost perfect. The rainy season is not of long duration, 

 lasting from the end of January to March. The remainder 

 of the year is generally free from long-continued rains ; but 

 in summer thunder-storms are frequent, and occasionally the 

 port is visited by a typhoon. 



My notes on the avifauna of N.E. Kwangtung are too 

 scanty to allow of a proper comparison between it and that 

 of the Foochow district. Still, the following differences may 

 as well be pointed out, subject to the correction of future 

 collectors : — 



Thrushes. — The most abundant Thrushes in the Foochow 

 district are Merula pallida, M. naumanni, and M.fuscata. As 

 winter visitants, however, the two latter are rare. Spring 

 seems to be the season during which all the Thrushes I 

 observed at Foochow {M. hortulorum excepted) are most 

 abundant. M. hortulorum is the scarcest of the Foochow 

 Thrushes, and I obtained it only in winter. M. fuscata and 

 M. naumanni seem to avoid the Swatow plain altogether, as 

 I did not observe a single one there. M. pallida seems rare 

 at Swatow, and M. hortulorum common on the hills west of 

 Swatow. 



Warblers. — Lusciniola fuscata, almost unknown at Foochow 

 in winter, is a common Swatow winter bird. 



j'lfs^ — Parus minor prevails at Foochow, and P. cinereus 

 (or P. commixtus) at Swatow. 



Wagtails. — The Swatow Wagtails arc all winter visitants. 



