218 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
the Syrian and Arabian deserts, provide more favourable opportunity for bird 
migration study than would a much frequented island in mid-ocean, to which 
the oasis in a reverse sense corresponds. The few tall tamarisk or palm trees can 
be seen for long distances across the thirsty sand-waste and promise shade and a 
refresher at the wells. Here taking advantage of the scantiest vegetation or 
shelter, the most unexpected species in such a region were encountered, as land- 
rails, moorhen and the nightingale ; next day these had departed, their place 
being taken by wagtails, flycatchers, cuckoo, blackcap and white-thoat, and 
so in even changing procession until the last one had passed and the small planta- 
tion settles down to its normal aspect—the home of a pair or two of crested 
larks. 
Mesopotamia lies in one of the great migration routes of the Palearctic birds 
(a geographical division of the bird kingdom to which the English birds also 
belong). This division roughly comprises Europe and N. Asia. The Southern 
boundary line passes along the Persian coast and at Fao strikes across the Syrian 
desert to the Gult of Akaba. Most of Arabia at all events, is in the Ethiopian 
or African region.* 
Palmen suggested several routes by which most Palearctic birds travel to and 
from their summer quarters. It is only necessary to give one here, but as a 
matter of interest we will include route A which “ leaving the Siberian shores of 
the Polar Sea passes down the west coast of Norway to the North Sea and the 
British Isles’? thence through France and Spain to Africa, in some 
vases far south in Africa. The route affecting this paper is route D, 
Starting from the extreme north of Siberia it ascends the river Ob and branches 
out near Tobolsk, one track diverging to the Volga, descends that river and so 
passes to the sea of Azov, the Black Sea and thence by the Bosphorus and Aegean 
to Egypt ; another track makes for the Caspian by way of the Ural river and so 
leads to the Persian Gulf. The latter branch is that which passed twice a year 
over the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, mostly following the line of the 
three large rivers, Tigris, Euphrates and Karun, though doubtless many 
birds also make their way through the valley and passes of the mountains of 
Kurdistan and Luristan. 
During the war, our stay in any one locality was always brief, our own migra- 
tions were frequent and time was occupied in other directions and so our know- 
ledge of migration is too scanty to do more than roughly indicate what possibly 
happens. However our observations at the oasis of Shaiba led us to believe that 
these birds which leave Mesopotamia for the winter pass on into Arabia and most 
of them presumably cross the Red Sea to find winter quarters in Africa. The 
centre of Arabia is unfortunately terra incognita ornithologically. The normal 
autumn migration at Shaiba was moving in a south to south-west direction and 
if these courses were held they must either go straight across Arabia or possibly 
strike the Persian Gulf somewhere near Koweit and perhaps coast along before 
striking across this continent. An exception to this general direction was noticed 
at Shaiba in the case of the yellow wagtails, flocks of which were seen on several 
consecutive days flying low over the desert in a North-easterly direction which 
would bring them to the Shat-al-Arab near Busra. The only explanations of thig 
* Where one should draw the boundary of the Palearctic and Ethiopian regions 
cannot be determined as yet, until the fauna of Central Arabia is known and that of 
the Arbian shore of the Persian Gulf. Palestine, in spite of its few Ethiopian forms 
must certainly be considered Palearctic and so must Sinai; Hedjaz and Yemen on 
the other hand partake of an Ethiopian character. Mr. H. St. J. Philby, C.I.E., who 
has recently visited the Washm Province of Central Arabia informs me that be met 
with a grey Partridge there, probably Francolinus pondicerianus, an exceedingly 
interesting fact, as hitherto it was only known from Mascat in the Arabian continent. 
Mr. Philby knows the Black Partridge and See-See well and is quite certain his birds 
were not these.—C.B.T, 
