the, Birds of Chinkiang. 429 



that, " saving on Silver Island, where the temple? and groves 

 had in some way or other escaped the general ruin, not a 

 tree was visible/' Thus the magnificent timber which is 

 now to be seen on the alluvial plains is the growth of only 

 forty years. The woods on the hills are even more recent, 

 and the best of these were planted by the monks of some 

 Buddhist monasteries, who for this noble work deserve the 

 gratitude of all lovers of nature. 



It is interesting to compare my Chinkiang list, based on 

 observations made within a radius of fifteen miles from the 

 city, with Styan's general list of Lower Yangtse Birds, as 

 it shews that in Eastern China the Palsearctic and Oriental 

 Regions meet as nearly as possible at Chinkiang. It will be 

 noticed that some southern hill-birds (such as Pomatorhinus 

 styani, Stachyridopsis rvficeps, Forktails, R/tyacomis fuligi- 

 nosa, the Dipper, Whistling Thrush, and Chinese Jay), which 

 might have been expected to wander as far as the Chinkiang 

 hills, do not occur there even as stragglers, while such 

 northern birds as Gecinus canus and Paras palustris are here 

 at their southern breeding -limit. With regard to summer- 

 birds, Pericrocotus cantonensis and Xanthopygia tricolor are 

 the most notable. Evidently the latter does not breed at 

 Shanghai, Kiukiang, or Hankow, the three points in the 

 Lower Yangtse Basin wdiere Styan has resided during the 

 summer ; so that Chinkiang is the southern breeding-limit of 

 this bird. As to the Minivet, the finding of a single breeding 

 pair shews that Chinkiang is tiic northern breeding-limit of 

 this species. The migratory land-birds of Chinkiang are all 

 mentioned in Styan 's list, with the exception of Locnstella 

 fasciolata, Phylloscopus tenellipes, and Cerchneis amurensis. 

 The first of these seems to be a rare bird in China, and so 

 far Amoy and Chinkiang are the only places where it has been 

 found. The second has already been taken by Pere David 

 near Kiukiang. The occurrence of the Falcon in South- 

 eastern China and near the Yangtse delta is exceptional ; its 

 route is doubtless chiefly through Central and South-western 

 China. The distribution of several of the other migrants on 

 the Yangtse is irregular, as might be expected. Thus PJujllu- 



