122 



SIBERIA IN EUROPE. 



CHAP. XI. 



a number of new birds in the town itself. We secured a 

 wood sandpiper * out of a flock of four ; a Temminck's stint,t 

 of which there were several. We saw a barn-swallow { twice, 

 and shot a pair of ringed plovers. We had also an 



* The wood sandpiper (Totarws 

 glareola, Linn.) is confined to the 

 palaearctic region during the breeding 

 season, being known in the British 

 Islands as a somewhat rare visitor 

 during migration, and having once 

 been known to breed near Newcastle. 

 It breeds in various places in Northern 

 and Eastern Europe, including Holland, 

 Denmark, Scandinavia, North Germany, 

 and the whole of Eussia. Eastwards 

 it is found throughout Siberia and 

 Turkestan. It winters in South Africa, 

 Beloochistan, India, Burmah, and the 

 islands of the Malay Archipelago, pass- 

 ing through China and Japan on migra- 

 tion. In the valley of the Petchora 

 we did not see it farther north than 

 latitude 68. 



t Temminck's stint (Tringa tem- 

 mincki, Leisl.) is confined to the eastern 

 hemisphere, breeding only on the tun- 

 dras beyond the limit of forest growth. 

 In the British Islands it is a compara- 

 tively rare bird, only found on migra- 

 tion. It winters in the Mediterranean, 

 principally on its southern shores, and 

 it extends as far south as the Sahara. 

 It probably extends eastwards in the 

 breeding season as far as Kamtchatka, 

 and winters in India and China. 



J The common swallow (Hirundo 

 rustica, Linn.), one of our most familiar 

 British birds, breeds throughout the 

 whole of Europe and J^orth Africa, 



migrating to South Africa in winter, 

 a few only remaining in the oases of 

 the Sahara. Eastwards it breeds in 

 Northern and Central Asia, wintering 

 in India and the islands of the Malay 

 Archipelago. The Eastern form has 

 been described as a different species, 

 Hirundo gntturalis (Scop.), and may be 

 considered as a subspecies connecting 

 the European bird with the very nearly 

 allied American form,ffirundo horreoram 

 (Barton). In the valley of the Petchora 

 we were probably at the extreme 

 northern limit of the range of this 

 bird, which only accidentally wanders 

 as far north as the Arctic circle. 



The ringed plover (/Egialitis hia- 



\ ticula, Linn.) is confined to the western 



j portion of the palsearctic region, not 



I having been found farther east than 



! the watershed of the Lena in the north 



I and Turkestan and Persia in the south. 



! In the British Islands it is common and 



I resident. Northwards it is found as 



i far as the mainland extends, and also in 



Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, Iceland, and 



Greenland. It does not go into South 



Africa. It frequents the seashore as 



well as the inland rivers and lakes, and 



is a more or less partial resident 



throughout the greater part of its 



range ; in the extreme north being 



found in the summer onlj, and in the 



extreme south in winter alone. 



