148 Lt.-Col. Sir O. B. St. John on the Birds 



comprises the Afghan province of Kandahar^ the British 

 provinces of Pishin and Thai Chotiali, with those of Quetta 

 and Kelat proper^ the flora is distinctly that of the temperate 

 zone, the Indian monsoon is little or not at all felt, and the 

 main rainfall is in winter. In the lower country to the east 

 and south the flora is subtropical and the climate that of 

 Sind. In configuration this Baluch or Afghan Khurasan is 

 a plateau, of which the ridge, averaging 6000 feet above the 

 sea, runs a])out north and south along the 67th meridian. 

 It is everywhere traversed by ranges of rocky hills rising in 

 some instances to 11,000 feet above the sea. These higher 

 hills are well clad with dwarf trees and shrubs, but the 

 lower hills and the plains are very bare. As may be sup- 

 posed, the birds are not very numerous, and my list numbers 

 235 species only. 



Of these, 205 are included in the birds of Persia enume- 

 rated by Mr. Blanford, or are well known to inhabit Western 

 Asia. The exceptions are the following : — 



Pseudogyps bengaleusis. Hypocolius ampeliuus. 



Falco jugger. Buclianga albirictus. 



Astiir brevipes. Muscipeta paradisi. 



Milvus goviuda. Myioplioneus temminckii. 



Elaniis cperuleus. Merula imicolor. 



Scops pennatu.?. Oriolus kundoo, 



brucei. Amadina malabarica. 



Hirundo filifera. Emberiza stewarti. 



Caprimulgus unwiiii *. scliceniclus. 



mabrattensis. Euspiza luteola. 



Alcedo bengalensis. Carduelis caniceps. 



Picus sindiensis {vel liima- Alauda gulgula. 



layensis). ^gialitis curonica. 

 Gecinus gorii. Porpbyrio poliocepbahis. 

 Lanius erytbronotus. Aidea bub ulcus. 

 pbcenicuroides. 



Of these the majority are stragglers from the neighbouring 

 plains of India or winter emigrants from Central Asia to 

 India. One {Gecinus gorii) is peculiar to the province, 

 another {Hypocolius ampelinus) is a wanderer from Africa, 



* [Mr. Blanford informs me tbat some grey specimens from S.E. 

 Persia, referred by bim (' Eastern Persia,' ii. p. 127} to C. europceus, were, 

 be now believes, identical with C. nmvtm. — Ed.] 



