THE BIRDS OF MESOPOTAMIA. 233 
25 specimens examined : 3, Shustar, 13-1-18, 18-1-18 (F. M. B.):3 0, Amara, 
29-1-18 ; Q, Zoar, 4-2-18; Fatah, 18-4-19 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.). 
3 Q, Feluja, 17-4-17; 9, Kut, 19-2-17, 3 3, 19-2-17 (C. R. P.); 6 d, Amara, 
27-1-18, ¢, 21-1-18, 11-3-18, 25-1-18, 13-3-18, 28-2-18, 30-3-18 (P.A.B.). 
Wing of ¢,77-84mm. The young birds of the year have broader edges to the 
upper parts and are very pale and these and fresh moulted birds are the most 
easily distinguishable, worn birds are most difficult to separate. The males of 
the year have on the whole the shorter wing. 
23. Tree Sparrow. Passer montanus. 
Magrath is quite certain that he saw Tree Sparrows amongst flocks of Spanish 
Sparrows at Felahiyeh on February 10th, 1917. There are no other records for 
Mesopotamia, but as it is not an unlikely bird to occur (it occurs in many parts of 
N. Persia) in winter and Magrath knows the species well T include it. 
24, Corn Bunting. Emberiza calandra. 
Emberiza calandra calandra, L. (Syst. Nat. Ed. X, p. 176—Sweden). 
The Corn Bunting is more or less resident in the Mesopotamian plain, appa- 
rently such migrations as it performs being only local and so in some places, such 
as Kut, it appears in the winter months only. It is widely distributed in winter, 
frequenting scrub, arable land and corn fields. To places where it is a winter 
visitor it leaves by about mid April and so a certain amount of migration may be 
noticed in districts where it is in winter not common, from the end of March 
onwards. 
The only breeding record comes from Shaura about 40 miles south of Mosul 
where Aldworth obtained a nest of six eggs and the parent bird on March 
24th. 
It probably breeds elsewhere, as at Amara, where Buxton obtained a maie 
with advanced organs on April 7th. Cheesman noted a pair in song and the male 
displaying at Sheik Saad as early as December 20th. 
Weigold says this species was not common in the Urfa district and became 
_ rarer eastwards ; he records it from Serudj on the Euphrates. Zarudny records 
it as wintering in the Karun district, where Woosnam also found it at Shush and 
Shuster in March. 
Nine skins examined : 9, Shustar, 3-2-18 (two) (F.M. B.); 9, Kut, 12-2-17; 
3, Feluja, 30-3-17; (C. R. P.); 9, Sheik Saad, 24-3-17 ; 20-12-16 (P. Z. C. 
and R. E. C.); ¢, Zorr, 18-3-18; ¢, Amara, 7-4-18; 0? 11-2-18. (P.A.B.). 
I cannot separate these birds from the typical race either by size or colour ; 
at least two Eastern races have been described, minor of Radde from Tiflis, butur- 
lint of Johansen from Kastek in W. Siberia (crede, Hartert) and another buturlini 
of Zarudny from Turkestan! I have examined a good many Turkestan birds 
and cannot separate winter or March birds thence from European ones. Eastern 
birds generally wear quicker than western ones and so birds, like Corn Buntings, 
appear greyer above and whiter below earlier in the year than do western 
examples ; but these lafter in a few weeks will also become as grey and white as 
the eastern ones. Also the amount of brownness or greyness above and the 
yellowness or whiteness below varies a good deal individually. 
25. Yellow Bunting. Emberiza citrinella. 
This Bunting is apparently quite a straggler to Mesopotamia. Hobkirk is 
quite certain he saw one at Basra on April 10th and from his description it 
would seem that this was so. Sassi obtained two from Mosul on January 23rd 
and Weigold saw one near Urfa on April 8th ; both suppose that their birds belong 
to the eastern race erythrogenys which race Zarudny also gives as wintering in the 
Karun district. As Ihave seennospecimens from our area I leave out the 
trinomial name. . 
30 
