238 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE PTEROCLID^. [Feb. 19, 



to be exactly known. The type and only known specimen was 

 obtained near Lake Jipe. It is most probable that the range of 

 some of the species mentioned above may be much greater ; but 

 before this can be definitely determined our knowledge of the 

 interior of the continent and its avi-fauna must be greatly increased. 

 Pt. exustus is given by Hartlaub, in his ' System der Ornith. West- 

 Afrika's,' upon the authority of a specimen in the Berlin Museum, 

 as an inhabitant of Senegal. I have not seen this corroborated by 

 any other writer ; and the species seems to be more particularly a 

 bird of East Africa, although it is not unlikely that it may skirt the 

 southern border of the Sahara quite across the continent. Finally, 

 according to Tristram, Pt. arenarius is found everywhere in the 

 Sahara, except in the extreme south. In the Oriental region, 

 the next in order, we find that in Sindh, with the exception of 

 Pt. decoratus and Pt. quadricinctus, all of those species already 

 mentioned as dwelling in the Ethiopian region are met with, two 

 of which {Pt. coronatus and Pt. lichtensteini) do not seem to be 

 found in any other part of India. Pt. senegalus is met with along 

 the shores of the Runn of Cutch and in Northern Guzerat ; while 

 Pt. arenarius goes north into the Punjaub and thence through the 

 North-west Provinces ; and Pt. alchata occurs in the Peshawur 

 valley. Pt. exustus and Pt. fasciatus are distributed generally 

 throughout India, the last-named species not being found in Sindh. 

 The last zoogeographical region in which these birds occur is the 

 Palsearctic ; and commencing in the far east we have the members 

 of the genus Syrrhaptes ; of which S. paradoxus ranges from the 

 plains of Pekin and Tientsin, through Mongolia and the Great 

 Gobi desert into the Kirghis steppes, occasionally wandering into 

 parts of Western Europe in more or less extensive numbers. The 

 year 1863 was a notable one for a great migration of this species, 

 flocks of considerable size having been observed as far west as 

 Ireland. The only other known species, S. tibetanus, is dis- 

 tributed from the Kokonor basin on the east, through Northern 

 Thibet to Ladakh. In this region also, Pt. senegalus is a native 

 of Palestine, where, according to Tristram, it is numerous. Pt. 

 arenarius is common throughout Turkestan, and is not rare in the 

 eastern steppes of New Russia and the Caucasus. It is also met 

 with in Persia and about Erzeroom, not uncommon in Palestine, 

 and is distributed generally throughout south-western Europe, being 

 common in Spain and Portugal. It is also a dweller of the Algerian 

 deserts, whence it extends into the Ethiopian region as already 

 enumerated, and has also been obtained in Greece. Its most 

 western locality that I have seen recorded is the Canary Islands, 

 where it has been observed in the Gran Canaria. The only re- 

 maining species to be noticed in the Palsearctic region is Pt. alchata, 

 which ranges from the Kirghis steppes into southern Russia ; 

 it is common in Asia Minor and Palestine, and occurring through- 

 out Southern Europe, is found in France where Pt. arenarius is 

 not known. It is also common in Spain, and frequently met with 

 in Portugal, and is abundant in the Algerian deserts. It has been 



