62 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA 



Among the finches we find the citril finch in Asia Minor and 

 Finches. n0I . t hern Africa, while the goldfinch is an inhabitant of south-western 

 Asia from Smyrna to Persia. The greenfinch is also to be found in this region, and 

 the chaffinch, which is rare in Persia, is a common bird in Asia Minor, as is also the 

 bullfinch, while the rock-sparrow and the tree-sparrow range as far as Afghanistan. 

 The common house-sparrow is replaced in Asia Minor, although not in northern 

 Africa, by the Italian house -sparrow. 



Starlings are represented in Palestine, southern Europe, and north- 

 west Africa by the Sardinian species (Sturnus unicolor), a near relative 

 of the European starling, but distinguished by the shorter body and the unspotted 

 black plumage, which is of a violet hue on the wings. This starling is found in the 

 Ukraine, Caucasia, and a great part of south-western Asia, ranging as far as Kashmir. 

 Of the crow tribe, the rook ranges into Syria and Persia. From 

 the north, the hooded crow enters this region, but not the carrion 

 crow. In Persia and Mesopotamia the hooded crow is represented by an allied 

 species in which the markings are white instead of grey. The jackdaw and 

 magpie are also present, but the jay is replaced in Asia Minor by the black-headed 

 jay (Garrulus krynicki) and in Syria by the Syrian jay (G. syriacus). The 

 chough occurs in Persia where the mountains are sufficiently high, and the 

 Alpine chough ranges from the Lebanon to the Himalaya and Altai. 



shrikes and Another European bird found in Asia Minor and Persia is the 



Flycatchers, lesser grey shrike, which is, however, rare. The commonest shrike is 



the woodchat, but the red-backed shrike also breeds within the region. The four 



European flycatchers already described are also frequent in south-western Asia. 



swallows and The swallows are represented by the European species, as well 



Martins. as by the red-rumped swallow (Hirundo rufula) which ranges from 



southern Europe to Turkestan. Although very like the ordinary swallow, it has a 



streaked abdomen, the back marked with white, the neck and lower part of the 



back variegated with chestnut, and a chestnut eye-stripe. It lives by preference 



among rocks near the sea or large inland waters, and makes beneath projecting 



ledges a rounded nest of mud and clay, furnished with an entrance tube sometimes 



as much as 5 inches in length. 



The European martin and sand-martin inhabit the latitudes of Asia corre- 

 sponding with those of their habitat in Europe. Another species, the crag-martin 

 {Cottle rupestris), is indigenous to the south of Europe and thence distributed 

 through Asia as far as China. Nesting in the towers and ruins of mountain 

 castles or among high rocks and steep cliffs on the seashore, only in cool mornings 

 and wet foggy weather does it come down from the heights. On such occasions it 

 will associate with other swallows, to return so soon as possible to its mountain 

 home. Here it builds a nest of clay and earth sheltered by a projecting rock. In 

 size it is slightly larger than the sand-martin ; the back is light grey, the throat 

 white, the chin mottled with brown, and the lower-parts light rusty greyish brown, 

 the outer tail feathers having a white blotch in the middle of the outer web. 

 Bee Eater and The swifts are represented in south-western Asia by the Alpine 



other Picarians. swift ; and in like manner the nightjar inhabits the latitudes of Asia 

 corresponding to those of its European habitat. The blue roller, whose area extends 



