108 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY 
little dry, and then, instead of following the course of the 
Sanju stream to Kewis and Tam by the way we came last year, 
we turned off tothe left by anew route which will enable us to 
avoid the Sanju river—at this season too much swollen to ford 
comfortably. On leaving Sanju we passed a number of mud 
banks, in the neighbourhood of which I saw the Kestrel and 
Athene bactriana, and then ascending to a wide sandy ridge, where 
I found one Podoces Hendersoni, got regularly into the moun- 
tains. We followed a small stream (Arpalak) upwards, along a. 
narrow valley, fording ata place called Chamban, where there 
were a few cultivated fields. The Crag Martin (Ptionoprogne 
rupestris) was now observed flying about in great numbers ; and 
the Indian Redstart (Ruticilla rujiventris) was very common along 
the stream. I also saw many Chicore (Caccabis pallidus) on the 
hill-side followed about by their young. As we went along, 
flocks of Alpine.Choughs (Pyrrhocoraz alpinus) were seen, an 
occasional Kite (MZ. melanotis) would fly past, and I observed 
one Harrier (Circus Swainsoni?) At last we reached Kizil Aghil 
which consists of a patch of cultivation with some large trees and 
one resident family on the bank of the stream. Here, strange 
to say, we found that the mulberries were only just ripe; the 
elevation is about 7,500 feet. 
In the afternoon I went about shooting birds and found that 
the following species are now to be met with here: The 
Kestrel, Kite, and Harrier previously mentioned ; Pttonoprogne 
rupestris, Upupa epops, Motacilla personata, Acrocephalus mac- 
rorhynchus, Ruticilla rufiventris, Cyanecula suecica, Pyrrhocorae 
alpinus, Sawxicola deserti, Passer montanus, Huspiza luteola, 
Columba rupiola and Caceabis pallidus. 
15th.— Kizil Aghil to Mazar.—F ine weather to-day until 3 P.M., 
when the sky became overcast with clouds, and the day dull 
and chilly; but we have escaped from the perpetual haze of 
the plains. We followed the stream up to the higher mountains 
from which it flows, often fording from side to side, but the 
road on the whole was good. The Crag Martin, Yellow-billed 
Chough, Hill-Pigeon (C. rupicola), Ruticilla rufiventris and 
the Chicore—were all common. I also noticed 7. alaudarius, 
Milvus melanotis, Upupa epops, Lanius arenarius, Motacilla 
personata, Corvus culninatus and Actitis hypoleucus. Parus 
cyanus was found among the Tamarisk bushes, flying about in 
small flocks ; a few Acrocephalus macrorhynchus were seen, and 
a pair of Magpies (Pica bactriana). 
16¢h.—On leaving Mazar this morning we ascended for six 
or seven miles through a narrowy rocky valley, whose stream 
was fringed here and there with Buckthorn bushes. In this 
valley I saw a pair of Carpodacus rubicilla, of which I shot the 
