no BIRDS OF DA LA I- NOR. 



three feet thick. It does not entirely thaw till the 

 first half of May. 



Situated in the midst of the arid plains of Mon- 

 golia, Lake Dalai- nor serves as a great rendezvous 

 for migratory birds belonging to the orders Natatores 

 and Grallatoi'es. In the beginning of April we found 

 large numbers of ducks/ geese, ^ and swans^ here; 

 divers,* gulls,^ cormorants,^ less numerous, as were 

 also cranes,*^ herons,^ spoonbills'' and avosets}^ The 

 two latter kinds and others belonging to the same 

 order {Waders) first appeared in the second week of 

 April ; birds of prey and small birds were very 

 scarce.^^ 



For a detailed description of the flight and habits 

 of these birds I must refer the reader to the second 

 volume of this work,^^ which will be especially de- 

 voted to the Ornithology ; for the present I will only 

 add that all birds of passage hasten their flight across 



^ The most numerous of the ducks were Anas boschas, A. crecca, 

 A. glocitans, A. acuta, A.falcafax less numerous were -^«й^ rutila, 

 A. tadorna, A. clypeata, A. p(TciIo7-]iy)icha, A. strcpera, and Fiiligiila 

 clangula. 



^ Anser segetum was most common ; A. chierens, in sufficient 

 numbers ; A. cygnoides and A. grandis, rare. 



' Cygiuis musiais and C. color. The former were the most nume- 

 rous, although the latter were also seen in considerable numbers. 



* Mergus merganser, M. albellus, M. sej'rator — not many. 



^ Lams ridibutidus and L. occidentalis ? 



® Plialacrocorax carbo. 



'' Grits monachiis and G. IciicaiicJicn, the latter rare. 



^ Ardea cinerea. 



^ Platalea leiicorodia. 



'° Reciirvirostra avocetta. 



" The most numerous of the birds of prey wcro. Mih'ns Go'innda 

 and Circus rufus. 



•^ This will not form part of the present translation. — M. 



