THE BIRDS OF MESOPOTAMIA. 243 
Six specimens examined: 2, Amara, 16-1-18; ¢, Legait, 2-3-18 (P. Z. C. and 
R. E. C.); 2, Feluja, 29-3-18; Nahr Umar, 5-4-18 (C. R. P.); od, Amara, 
23-12-17—16-12-17 (P. A. B.). 
All belong to the typical race. 
50. Richard’s Pipit. Anthus richardi, 
Anthus richardi richardi, Vieill. (Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. X XVI, p. 491, 
1818—France). 
Recorded by Zarudny as a winter visitor to the Karun district. 
51. Plain Pipit. Anthus sordidus. 
Anthus sordidus decaptus, Meinerz. (Bull. B.O.C. CCLILI, p. 23, 1920— 
Rud-i-Taman, E. Persia). 
Apparently a winter visitor in quite small numbers, as there is only one 
specimen—obtained by Buxton at Amara on February 11th ; he met with three 
or four in a ploughed field and remarks he had not seen it before. No one else 
records it but some may have mistaken it for the Tawny Pipit to which it bears 
some resemblance in general appearance and habits. Zarudny records it from 
the Karun district in winter. 
Hartert (Vég. Pal. F., p. 269) separated the Palestine race of this Pipit as 
A. leucophrys captus. It is now generally recognized that it must stand as a race 
of the N. E. African bird, A. sordidus. Hartert gave the distribution of captus as 
Palestine, Persia, Afghanistan, Beluchistan and Sind. Meinerzhagen who 
recently got a good series of these birds in Palestine has pointed out however that 
the Palestine birds are smaller than those from further east and gives the wing 
measurement of the Palestine birds as 90-95mm., and in the eastern race, which 
he calls decaptus, the wing measures 95-106 mm. Buxton’s bird, a female, has a 
wing of 97 and so clearly belongs to the eastern form. 
52. Grey Wagtail. Motacilla cinerea (—boarula auct.). 
Motacilla cinerea cinerea, Tunst. (Ornit. Britain, p. 2, 1771—Gt. Britain). 
A winter visitor in small numbers, the first arriving at the end of August, and 
it is widely distributed in suitable places throughout our area. Most depart by 
the end of March and the latest date is April 11th ; before they leave they assume 
full breeding dress. Weigold got three skins at Urfa in April and records that 
they are intermediate between cinerea and melanope and possibly an inter- 
mediate form occurs on the boundary between these two races, as the tails of 
his specimens, somewhat abraided, are shorter (93-95 mm.) than in any cinerea. 
He does not know if the Grey Wagtail breeds at Urfa. 
Five skins examined: ¢ Kurna, 20-3-18, T. 100 (P. A. B.); 3 Sheik Saad, 
22-3-17, oT. 98, 2-4-17, T. 98:5; dShaiba, 13-9-16, T. 100 (P. Z. C. and R. 
E. C.); Samarra, 13-12-17, T. 97 (C. R. P.). 
None of these differ in any way from and all have as long tails as British ones, 
53. Black-headed Wagtail. Motacilla feldegg (melano- 
cephala auct). ‘“‘Zit-ziata.’’ 
Motacilla feldegg feldegg, Michah. (Isis, 1830, p. 812—S. Dalmatia). 
This Wagtail is an exceedingly abundant passage migrant throughout the 
country ; the earliest date is March 13th and fair numbers may be seen through- 
out the rest of the month. Cheesman saw flocks of Wagtails, many being of this 
species going north at Sheik Saad in the third week of March, the males pre- 
ceding the females. Huge flocks pass through in April but most have gone on 
by the third week. It probably breeds not far off as Pitman saw it at the Eu- 
phrates Barrage on July 8th, 1917, and many at Baghdad on the 18th. 
Buxton also found a few in rice-fields by the Hawazieh swamp on July 12th 
een? obtained was an adult male in very worn dress and just beginning to 
moult. 
