1920.] Birds of Quetta. 179 



T liave fre(|iiontly seen those l)irds far from water and 

 feeding on lizards and toads, for which they probe in the 

 soft earth and sand. I have seen Herons acting in the same 

 way in the desert of northern Sinai. 



Ardea piirpiirea. 

 A. p. purpurea L. 



I never met with this bird, but there are two examples in 

 the Quetta Museum of the typical European race, which 

 were shot in March, one at Quetta and the other at Nushki. 



Egretta alba (L.). 



I saw several at Khushdil in March and November. 

 Marshall found them common at Khushdil in February. 

 None were obtained. 



Nycticorax nycticorax. 



S. II. uf/cticoraa? (L.). 

 There are several in the Quetta Museum, all obtained 

 locally in March and April. I once saw a single adult in 

 March. 



Ixobrychus minutus. 



/. 1)1. Diiiiufu.-t (L.). {= Ardetta mimda, F. B. I.) 



Scarce on passage. Specimens w^ere obtained on 27. iv., 

 11. vii., and 8. viii. Others in the Quetta Museum were 

 obtained in May and September. 



Ixobrychus sinensis (Gm.). 



Mr. ('ummiiig obtained a specimen at Quetta in March 

 1907. 



Botaurus stellaris. 



J), s. stellaris (L.). 

 A common winter visitor and bird of passage from 

 November to March, as many as fifteen being flushed in a 

 single day's snipe-shooting near Khushdil. 



I have good reason to suspect this species of having bred 

 at Khushdil in 191-4, as on 19. vi. I heard the familiar 

 " booming." At daylight next morning I flushed an old 



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