i 406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
in song till the 28th; he obtained a single specimen of africana in April 
16th and one which he considered to be golzii but not typical, on the 17th; 
but from what he says about its size (W. 85) and coloration it seems doubtful 
if it really belongs to this race. Zarudny records golzii as a winter visitor to 
the Karun district. 
The two specimens obtained by Cheesman certainly belong to the Persian 
race africana and not the paler Turkestan one, golziiz. Further investigation 
is required in the status of this and concerning other races which are said to 
have occurred. 
124. Thrush Nightingale. Luscinia luscinia. 
Luscinia luscinia, L. (Syst. Nat. Ed. x., 1758—Sweden). 
Pitman met with this species at Feluja during the spring migration, when from 
April 27th to 30th they were very plentiful in willow and other scrub, and very 
skulking ; he obtained two. Cheesman obtained a single bird at the oasis of 
Shaiba on September 27th. There is no evidence that this species breeds in the 
country ; probably it is a passage migrant. Weigold noted it as common in 
spring passage arriving April 16th at Urfa. Cumming at Fao regarded it as a 
winter visitor arriving in the autumn and staying till late in the spring; he 
obtained specimens in October, January and on May 8th. Zarudny records 
it in winter from the Karun district so apparently a few must even winter in 
Mesopotamia though the majority seem to pass through. 
' The three specimens examined are quite typical. 
125. Blue-throat. Luscinia suecica, 
1. Luscinia suecica magna , Zar. and Loudon. (Orn. Jahrb., 1904, 
p- 225—Bidesar in Arabistan). 
2. Luscinia suecica volge, Kleinschm. (Falco. iii, p. 47, 1907—Sarpa, 
Lower Volga). 
Several races of Blue-throat evidently inhabit Mesopotamia and from the 
field notes it is impossible to differentiate the status of each race. 
The race which breeds in 8. W. Persia (magna) is usually without a spot on 
the blue-throat or has a small white spot, but it is easily distinguished in the 
hand from other races by its superior size. Probably all observations under 
the White-spotted Blue-throat refer to this race. This race certainly arrives 
early in August, as one might expect from the nearness of its breeding haunts, 
and is common by mid-August. Cheesman obtained one at the oasis of Shaiba in 
the Syrio-Arabian desert on September 5th which suggests that it was a passage 
migrant as none winter there. Buxton saw a white-spotted bird at Amara on 
November 28th, the latest record of this form. 
It becomes evidently common again at the end of March and several specimens 
were obtained in full breeding dress, the last on April 19th. Cumming under 
cyaneculus probably refers to this race which he says appears in March on spring 
migration at Fao, and is seen through April to mid-May in pairs. 
There is no certain evidence that this race winters in Mesopotamia, some race ~ 
however probably does so. 
Pitman says that he met with several Blue-throats on February 19th near 
Kut, and Buxton found it common at Amara on December 4th, but thought all 
had gone by mid-December ; Pitman however saw one near Amara on January 
24th. Like some other species, e.g., Swallow and Sand Martin, it is likely that 
most depart for the few colder weeks of mid-winter, odd stragglers remaining 
in some well sheltered spots. 
Two birds obtained in November and December by Buxton I cannot 
separate, except that they are rather small, from the typical race (L. 8. swecica) 
but quite possibly they are volge, to which race I certainly refer one obtained 
in March at Sheik Saad and possibly a female from Amara. Weigold obtained 
