78 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY 
Mergus castor is occasionally seen, and Xema brunnercephala has 
been obtained. 
29th December—Yepchan.—We started rather late to-day 
from Yangi Shahr, Kashghar, and did not reach this place 
until dark, Near the Fort a number of carts and camels 
were collected, for some reported movements of troops, I 
believe. The camels were all of the Bactrian or two- 
humped species; very nice looking animals, with handsome 
heads. A miserably cold day and most bleak prospect 
as we rode along. The streams and every bit of water, 
except a few springs, all frozen; the trees leafless ; and 
altogether the scene presented the greatest contrast imaginable 
to what we had found this bit of the country two months and 
a half ago. The people now all wear thick long robes, of a 
darkish color and well padded ; huge felt stockings inside their 
long boots ; and the head dress) of the women is a lar ge sort 
of pork-pie hat, lined with fur. The Crested Lark ( Galerita 
magna) running about on the road looked as if it ought to have 
warm stockings on in this weather ; its bare fleshy feet giving 
one the impression that it could be feeling at all comfortable. 
Otocoris penicillata very numerous to-day. 
30th— Sughlok.—Another cold bleak day ; the boys sliding 
about on the ice near the villages. Near the jheel on the road, 
I saw many Ducks (Anas boschas) and a solitary Gull (Xema 
brunneicephala). As we neared Sughlok a Harrier (Circus cya- 
neus) flew close passed me, and [ observed several Kestrels (7. 
alaudarius), and a Grey Shrike (Lantus Homeyert) perched on 
a small leafless trees in bare ground. Sughlok is very much 
changed, the trees about looking very bare and ghostly ; on 
my arrival L saw three or four Starling flitting about among 
these trees. The forty days of great cold recognized by the 
Kashgharians is said to begin about this time. 
lst January 1875.—Yangi Hissar.—We are halting here 
to-day to celebrate the New Year, and to write letters, &. 
It is very cold out of doors, and the sky is quite overcast ; but 
inside my room here, with a capital wood-fire burning in the 
fireplace, and a long fur robe on, one feels very comfortable. 
I take this opportunity of giving a sketch of the weather 
during the last month (December) ), which may be taken as 
the first month of real winter in this country. We had five 
days only of clear blue sky during which we could see the 
mountains north and west of Kashghar clearly ; fifteen days 
of partial cloud and haze; and ten days of dull gloomy weather 
with the sky completely ‘overcast. Snow fell slightly on the 
morning of the 5th, but had all melted bv 10 a. m., except on 
the ice-covered bits of water ; on the 9th snow fell on the 
