1922.] f/ie JT/rJs of Sind. 559 



the desert hiislies have sprouted into life, there in the thickest 

 "kandi" bushes this bird may l)e found and a trlimpse 

 obtained as it flashes out. and in wot years more are induced 

 to halt than in dry years. 



This is one of those species which pass through Lower 

 Punjab and Sind east to Mt. Aboo, and take the Arabian 

 route to reach the winter quarters (Yemen, Sept.). All my 

 specimens are very typical icterops, with darker greyer brown 

 npppr parts than the European bird has. 



Sylvia hortensis crassirostris (Jretzsch. 



The East(M-n Orplioan Warbler is not very uncommon, and 

 is generally distributed wherever leafy trees, especially 

 babools, are found ; and consequently, I think, in very dry 

 years, when most trees are not in good leaf, it is scarcer in 

 Sind as a whole ; at least I noticed it to be far less common 

 in 1918-19 when the monsoon failed. Even in desert scrub- 

 jungle it may sometimes be seen creeping about in the 

 leafless caper bushes. The earliest I have seen it is tJ August, 

 though most come perhaps in September, and the latest 

 was noted on 14 April ; I could detect no through-passage. 

 A shy, skulking bird, it keeps pretty well to thick foliage and 

 is an adept at concealment. 



8 males : wing 80-83 ; bill from base 20-22 mm. 



8 females : „ 77-5-81 ; „ „ 20-21*5 „ 



The crown in the female is never so black as in the male, 

 being more of a dark slate-colour. The juvenile moults the 

 body-feathers, always the central pair, sometimes otliors of 

 the tail-feathers, all the coverts except the primary series, 

 and not uncommonly (throe specimens) the three or four 

 outer primaries and inner secondaries. The markings on 

 the juvenile tail are less sharply defined black and white 

 than in the adult. 



Sylvia nana nana (H. & E.). 



This little bird is well named the Desert- Warbler, as it 

 is found in such barren spots as no other S(df-respecting 

 Siflria would deign to haunt. In anything like thick scrub 



