THE BIRDS OF MESOPOTAMIA, 395 
Amara, 3-11-17) (two), 11-2-18, 5-4-18, 18-9-18, 9, 4-2-18 ; Baghdad, 25-9-17, 
Q, 22-3-18 ; 9, Amara, 6-6-18 ;2, Gurmat Ali, 18-8-18 (P. A. B.) ; Adhaim, 
13-11-17 (C. R. P.) ; Akuba, Euphrates, 9-4-18, 2 , 9-4-18 (Venning) ; 2? , Basra, 
17-3-18, 18-3-18 (C. B.T.). 
This series is not in very good order, the skins are not good ones, some were 
juveniles, others in moult. They are so near to lepida that I cannot separate 
them, they vary rather, some seem a trifle greyer, others darker ; lepida from 
India also varies. Pattern of the tail as in lepida. I was at first very surprised 
that the Prinia should be the same as the Indian one, but on consideration per- 
haps it is not so remarkable, asthe range extends probably continuously along 
South Persia into Beluchistan and Sind. 
The Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquiteta) crept into Cumming’s list of Fao birds 
and into the Bombay N. H. Society’s pamphlet through a mistake as explained 
under Hypolais p. eleica. It does not occur so far as we know; it is of course 
a “hill” bird. 
97. Fan-tailed Warbler. Cisticola cisticola. 
Cisticola cisticola, subsp, ? 
In the lower part of Mesopotamia, at all events, this Warbler is found as a 
resident in smal] numbers and somewhat locally. The only places it is recorded 
from are Sheik Saad, Amara and Basra; possibly it was overlooked by others 
elsewhere, or recorded as some other Warbler. Buxton found it not so uncommon 
at Amara but local, and he noted that it particularly frequented the edges of 
vegetable gardens where the cultivated parts were being invaded by desert 
scrub, such as Prosopis. Logan Home found it fairly common in suitable places 
near Basra. On June 12th he found two pairs building in green grass over water 
or wet ground ; the nests were then half built. Owing to continual cutting of 
the grass it was not till the end of July that he found a completed nest,—one 
with young on the 20th, and one with three eggs on the 27th, while nests with 
young were found as late as August 17th. The nests, well concealed and of the 
usual purse shape with the opening at the top, were composed of spider’s webs 
and plant down and lined at the bottom with Bull-rush down. The peculiar 
jerky upward flight in the neighbourhood of the nest and the distinctive note 
will be familiar to those who have been in India. 
Five skins examined : Sheik Saad, 14-12-16 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.) ; Amara, 
16-12-17, 30-12-17 (P. A. B.) ; Amara, 17-4-19 (tail lost) ; Basra, 14-8-19 (very 
worn) (L. Home.) 
It is unfortunate that so poor a series of this bird was obtained, three fair winter 
specimens and two bad summer ones. The winter birds have fairly broad 
white tips to the tails and I cannot see much difference between these and the 
Indian cursitans; however on such a series it would be premature to come 
to any definite conclusion as to what race inhabits Mesopotamia. 
It is curious and significant that no Cisticola was found in Persia or Beluchistan 
by Zarudny, Blanford, etc. 
98. Mesopotamian Babbler. Crateropus altireostris. 
Crateropus altirostris, Hart. (Vég. Pal. F., p. 623—Fao). 
This Babbler, which is peculiar to Mesopotamia, appears to be rather patchy 
in its distribution. At Fao where Cumming got the first known specimens 
(recorded as huttoni, Ibis, 1886, p. 484) he records it as plentiful. In the palm 
groves and cultivation round Basra I found it rather common ; it is reported as 
very common at Nasariyeh, but quite rare at Amara itself and Kut. But in the 
gigantic reed beds near Amara and Nahr Umar, it is common, the birds inhabit- 
ing reeds growing in water as much asa mile from land! From Kut to Baghdad 
and thence to Tekrit on the Tigris, and from Nasariyeh to Feluja on the Eu- 
phrates, which includes seveial districts well worked by various observers, there 
