250 Col, R. Meiiiertzhagen on the [Ibis, 



and from the Judsean hills south of Jerusalem. We can 

 therefore assume that the same subspecies inhabits the 

 Lower Jordan and Dead Sea depressions, the Judpean high- 

 landsj and the Shephelah. 



They agree, so far as oue is able to judge, with the 

 original description of sinaica (J. f. 0. 1858, p. 31), which 

 DawydofP states occurs also in western Palestine, but he 

 seems to refer the bird from the Ghor or Jordan and 

 Dead Sea depression to inarf/aritw, which he says has a 

 pure grey crown. Now the only (Jhukar which has anything 

 approaching a pure grey crown is wero' from southern 

 Persia, and the Palestine birds ai-e certainly not wei^w, with 

 which I have compared my specimens. It is also clear 

 that the birds from the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley have 

 not the pure grey crown which Dawydoff assigns to them : 

 we must therefore assume that his expression " pure grey 

 crown" is a natural exairfieration for a bird which has a 

 predominance of grey on the crown. Palestine birds are 

 also much darker in every respect than tvenr. I am there- 

 fore of the opinion that mar<jarit<i' is synonymous with 

 siiudra, the hitter race extending from southern Sinai to the 

 Dead Sea and southern Palestine. Birds from southern 

 Sinai are referred to sinaica by Zedlitz (J. f, 0. 1912), the 

 males havino- wings measurin*-' lao-lSG mm., and the 

 females 147-155 mm. Our Palestine birds run larger, four 

 males having wings of 160, 107, 171, and 172 mm. Two 

 niales in the Triny- collection from Enoedi on the Dead Sea 

 and from the Juda^aii hiiihlands have winy,s measuriiio- 

 158 mm. 



A bird from Mount Carmel is darker than southern 

 Palestine birds, and is probably a new race^ but only one 

 female with a wino; of 158 mm. was brout>ht home. It has 

 no trace of grey on the head. 



The Chukar is common in the Judaian hills and the Shep- 

 helah, ranging south to near Beersheba and east to the 

 lowest levels of the Dead Sea and Lower Jordan depression. 

 Eo-os were found in the Jordan foot-hills on 5. iii., the clutch 



