Ornithology of Cyprus. 635 



9. TURDUS PILARIS Liiiii. 



Usually decidedly rare, the Fieldfare was quite common 

 last winter. From October 30th, 1910, to the third week in 

 February 1911 it appeared all over the islaud, but was parti- 

 cularly abuudaut iu January and in the first week of February. 



24. Subsp. TuRDUs alpestris C. Brelim. 



Though I mentioned this bird in my previous paper on 

 the Ornithology of Cyprus, I had been unable to obtain 

 a specimen to satisfy myself as to its identity. 



However, on the 15th of July, 1910, Mr. O. F. Wilson saw 

 a specimen on a rocky stream in the Troodos Mountains, 

 and on October 13th an immature male was taken on bird- 

 lime at Ormidhia, near Larnaca, and sent to Mr. T. Green- 

 wood. From him it went to Mr. G. F. Wilson, in whose 

 collection I saw it. 



None of these circumstances at all prepared us for 

 what followed. Driven down, I imagine, by the heavy 

 snows on the Taurus range in Cilicia, a regular swarm 

 of the Eastern Ring-Ousel invaded the island about mid- 

 February : one man shot twenty in one day ! We obtained, 

 of course, numerous specimens ; many were sold as food in 

 the bazaars. They frequented the gardens even in Nicosia 

 town itself, and fed on ivy-berries. They mostly disappeared 

 about the first week in March, though one was still to be 

 seen in Nicosia as late as the 21st. No Cypriote, so far as 

 I could ascertain, recognised or had ever seen the bird 

 before. 



25. MoNTicoLA sAXATiLis (Linu.). 



Mr. Baxendale saw a single Rock-Thrush at Kantara 

 Castle (Kyrenia Mountains) on July 24th, 1910; he shot a 

 fine adult female on the roof of a house at Famagusta on 

 March 5th, 1911, and a splendid adult male at a place called 

 Platauissa on the 23rd of the same month. 



27. MoNTicoLA cYANUs (Linn.). 



We have obtained several Blue Rock-Thrushes in different 

 parts of the island during the last two years: in March, 

 April, July, October, and November. 



