OF EASTERN TURKESTAN. 165 
The species of which this specimen was said to be the young 
was called by the Yarkandis Toghrak kuchkachi, i.e., Poplar 
bird. It was said to be found in the Dolan forests and to have 
the head and breast of a reddish color. The yeung bird des- 
cribed above had a single sweet. sort of note. 
Mr. Hume thinks that this bird must be a Passer or 
Propasser of some sort but cannot pronounce certainly without 
careful comparisons, which he has not here the materials for 
making. It certainly is not the young of Passer montanus. 
But Mr. Hume remarks that it is very like the young of 
Passer indicus ; the only difficulty about this is that 2. indicus 
does not occur in Hastern Turkestan. 
710.—Passer montanus, Linn. 
$. Shot at Kizil Aghil, 14th August.—Length, 5:6; expanse 
9-1; wing, 2°9; tail, 2-4; tarsus, 0°7; bill, from gape, 0°55 ; 
closed wings fall short of tail, 1°45; weight, 0°75 oz. Bull, 
black, vellow at base below ; irides, light brown; legs and feet, 
yellow fleshy ; claws, brownish horn color. 
Nestling, Yarkand, 25th July.—Length, 4°8 ; expanse, 8°4; 
wing, 2:5; tail, 1:7; tarsus. 0°7; bill, from gape, 0°52 ; closed 
wings fall short of tail, 0°95; weight, 0°6 oz. Bill—upper 
mandible, brownish; lower, yellow horn color ; irides, dark 
brown ; legs and feet, yellow fleshy ; claws, light horn color. 
This species is the common Sparrow of Eastern Turkestan, 
where it is a permanent resident. It abounds everywhere 
near inhabited places and cultivated fields, up to an elevation 
of about 7,500 feet. Itis not nearly so troublesome as the 
Indian House Sparrow (Passer indicus}, seldom coming into 
one’s room; but in the depth of winter, when their food was 
scarce, flocks of these birds would assemble on the windows and 
peck away at the paste which had been used to fasten on the 
transparent paper, producing quite a deafening noise. _ 
The Tree Sparrow breeds from May to August, rearing, I 
think, two broods in the year; the nest is placed in the holes of 
walls, under the eaves of houses, and in trees. On the 3rd of 
June I found a nest in a hole of a wall, near my room, in the 
Residency at Yarkand. The hole was pretty deep, not wide 
enough to admit the hand and about six feet above the ground. 
Three egos were found, one a good deal incubated, lying on a 
confused mass of feathers, hair, straw, twigs, &c. The female 
bird was sitting and could with difficulty be induced to come 
forth from her nest. On the 18th July I noted that many birds 
were building in my verandah; the nests were clumsy masses 
of straw, grass, leaves and wool, piled together in such a slovenly 
manner that portions of them were continually falling down and 
