On Birds from the Banks of the Lena River. 415 



XXX.— On the Birds collected by Mr. Robert Halt, of Mel- 

 bourne, on the Banks of the Lena River between Giyalowa 

 and its Mouth. By Ernst Hartert, Ph.D., F.Z.S. With 

 an Introduction and Field-notes by Robert Hall,C.M.Z.S.* 



I. Preface (by E. Hartert). 

 The collection made by Mr. Hall on the Lena River is of 

 great interest, as our knowledge of the details of distribution 

 of birds iu Siberia is very limited. It is interesting to note 

 that the forms of the Upper Lena (Gigalowa) differ in some 

 cases from those of the lower portion of the river. Near 

 Gigalowa forms inhabiting the Baikal district were found 

 breeding, while the specimens from further north are re- 

 ferable to the North-Siberian subspecies. 



The journey having been rapidly made, and the collections 

 having been entirely formed along the river, Mr. Hall can 

 only have obtained specimens of a portion of the birds that 

 inhabit that district of Eastern Siberia, and this is hardly 

 sufficient to give us an idea of the avifauna, except so far as 

 it is exhibited in summer on the river- bank. The skins are 

 mostly much worn and badly prepared, so that some difficulty 

 often presents itself in making out the subspecies in question . 

 Nevertheless the collection increases our knowledge of Si- 

 berian ornithology considerably, and we are much indebted to 

 Mr. Hall for his energetic enterprise in making it. 



The skins are in the Hon. Walter Rothschild's Museum 

 at Tring. 



Mr. Hall's notes are enclosed in square brackets. 



II. Introduction (by Robert Hall). 

 [This journey was practically commenced by me at Irkutsk 

 on June 5th, 1903, with Mr. R. E. Trebilcock as a com- 

 panion, and with a Russian interpreter f. To the orni- 

 thologist the Lena valley would, I thought, be a perfectly 



* The author of this paper wishes it to he understood that he is solely 

 responsible for the nomenclature adopted. 



f I take this opportunity of acknowledging the kindly services rendered 

 at Vladivostock by Mr. Richard TIawker, of South Australia. 



