1920. J Birds uf Qudta. 181 



and })iiiionod six. When the large flock flew off thirty-seven 

 hirds remained behind witli the six pinioned ones till the 

 autumn. 



Anser anser (L.). 



There is usually a large bunch of these Geese at Khushdil 

 or Seranan in winter, from about the end of October to 

 April. In 1013 six birds remained at Khushdil throughout 

 the .summer. On 19. v. 14 a flock of about forty arrived at 

 Khushdil at 2 P.M. in brilliantly fine weather and were so 

 exhausted and thirsty that they drank and slept the whole of 

 that afternoon, allowing me to sit and watch them within 

 fifty yards. They left again the next night. 



The Grax Lao; was the only Goose identified for certain. 



Cygnus bewicki Yarr. 



Mr. A. B. Aitken shot a female on Khushdil on IT.xii. 13. 

 Wing 20 inches. AVeight 144- pounds. If the supposed 

 eastern race of Bewick's Hwdi\—jaitkowskil — is recognised, 

 this bird should be placed nnder that name, but it seems 

 more likely that janlcowskii can be applied to any large 

 example of heivic/xi, though Asiatic exam[)les are, as is the 

 custom with all Asiatic races, generally finer and larger birds. 

 Buturlin found both typical heioirki and typical jankowsh'd 

 breeding together in the Delta, so we must conclude they 

 are either not geographical races of the same species, or that 

 they are in themselves distinct species. The latter is of 

 course out of the question, and I prefer to }>lace janLowsli'i 

 as a synonym of beicicki. 



Cygims olor (Gm.). 



Large numbers ^isited Khushdil Reservoir aljout I'.'Ol, 

 and single individuals were observed there in February 

 IDU and November 1913. 



The Mute Swan breeds in Seistan, but the Whoo[)er is 

 only a winter visitor to that area (teste Zarudnj). I believe 

 MacMahon obtained only the Whooper and concluded that 

 it was this fSwan, which he obtained in winter, that bred 

 there. 



