On the Birds of the Quangtung Coast. 235 



middle of May only stragglers were seen. In the second 

 half of May the main body arrived, and after the 10 June 

 the clutches of eggs were complete. Fledged young were 

 seen in the first half of July. 



In conclusion, I may add that Dr. Walter's collection is 

 now in the Zoological Museum at St. Petersburg. 



XVIII. — List of the Birds of the Quangtung Coast, China. 

 By J. C. Kershaw, F.Z.S. 



The following list of birds is the result of about a year and a 

 half's collecting (October 1901 to June 1903) in the districts 

 round Hongkong and Macao, mostly at the latter place. 

 For the identifications I am mainly indebted to Mr. F. W. 

 Styau. The list of Ducks might be very considerably 

 increased, but I have included only those of which 1 have 

 shot specimens myself. Attention was chiefly paid to the 

 land-birds, but on the whole the district is a very poor 

 one for trees, the level ground being densely populated and 

 Avell cultivated, whilst the hills are for the most part barren 

 or sparsely wooded with firs, which are cut periodically 

 for firewood, and never allowed to attain any considerable 

 size. Almost the only patches of wood are behind the 

 villages, and consist principally of banyan and bamboo, with 

 scrubby undergrowth. 



The country is hilly and broken, the granite hills rising 

 from one to two thousand feet above sea-level, and their 

 highest points reaching to some three thousand feet. 



The winter, from about November to February inclusive, 

 is the dry season ; hot on the whole, but with short spells of 

 really cold weather, generally during January and February, 

 when the thermometer occasionally descends to 50° F. in the 

 daytime ; whilst the spring and summer are hot and very 

 damp. The spring months are usually the rainiest period. 

 Macao is about forty miles south-west of Hongkong, on 

 the opposite side of the West River estuary. Hongkong is 

 just within the tropics, the line passing through Swatow and 

 about equally dividing Formosa. 



