846 JO VllNAL, BOMB A Y EA TUBAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XX TIL 



Progress by Ford Van convoy gives plenty of time for collecting but I found 

 exceedingly little between Karind and Kermanshah. I saw four adult Great 

 Bustards {Otis tardus) in a little boggy plain at Harunabad among wild liquorice. 

 At Kermanshah I spent seven days (29 Nov.-5 Dec. 1918), and got a number of 

 interesting birds. The margins of the river, the Kara Su, are marshy in places 

 and held duck, common waders. Bittern {Botaurus stellaris) &nd Common Heron 

 (Ardea c. cinerea). There were plenty of Ravens (Oon/'MSCorax) and Sharpe's Crows 

 ' on the outskirts of the town, and Lammei'geiers ( Gypaetits harhatus) were com- 

 moner than I saw them elsewhere. Ploughing was in progress all over the 

 country side, but there was a striking absence of birds in the plains : I only 

 saw Sky Larks and a few Crested Larks. In the small wood immediately above 

 the town of Kermanshah I found a most interesting avifauna. Certain birds 

 represented the peculiar fauna of the woods of the Zagros mountains : — the 

 Blue Tit (Parns coeruleus persicus), and the Longtailed Tit {Acredula caudata 

 tephronota), which is confined so far as Persia is concerned to the S. W. ; pos- 

 sibly also the Wren, provisionally ascribed to Troglodytes t. hyrcanns, should be 

 identified with the almost unknown T. t. zagrossiensis, Zarudny and Loudon, 

 another S. W. Persian form. Other birds of perhaps less interest were abundant. 

 The Blue and Longtailed Tits moved about the wood in association with Persian 

 Great Tits (P. m. hlanfordi) : and Phylloscopus sp. Syrian Pied Woodpeckers, 

 Robins, Song Thrushes (Turdus p. philomelos), Blackbirds (T. merula syri- 

 acus), Cetti's Warblers, Grey Wagtails, Woodcock, Common Kingfishers, (Hal- 

 cyon smyrnensis,) and Eagle-Owls (Bubo b. nikolskii) were all seen several times. 

 Prom 26th to 28th May, Cheesman was in Kermanshah: he found Common Bee 

 Eaters, Sharpe's Crow and Cetti's Warbler breeding, the last two with young. 

 Between Kermanshah and Hamadan he obtained evidence of the breeding of 

 Caucasian Starling [Sturnus vulgaris caucasicus). White Stork, Swift {{Micropus 

 apus pehinensis). Crested Lark {Galerida cristata subtaurica). Black Kate (Milvus 

 migrans). Black- headed Bunting, Hoopoe ( Upupa epops epops). I was at Asa- 

 dabad for five days in early December 1918, detained by snow on the pass : 

 snow also fell in the camp and broke down some of the tents and we were 

 visited by very severe wind. The only birds I could find were several Starlings 

 (S. vulgaris subsp.), and Eversmann's Redstarts [Phcenicurus erythronota), one 

 Wren, one Crested Lark, one Little Owl and three Magpies. On the Asadabad 

 pass, and later on the Aveh pass I saw Snow Finches (Montifringilla nivalis) 

 between 7,000 and 9,000 feet, on both occasions injDecember 1918. 



At Hamadan (6,000 feet and over) I remained two days, (11th and 12th Dec- 

 ember 1918), and in spite of brilliant weather only saw Great Tits, Goldfinches 

 {Car duelis c. harmsi), Syrian Pied Woodpeckers, Crows (probably C. c. sharpei), 

 and House Sparrows, all common ; a few Eversmann"s Redstarts, White Wag- 

 tails {M. a. dukhunensis ?), and Magpies ; one Raven and one Crested Lark. 

 It appeared to me that Aveh would be a good centre for collecting ; the 

 mountain above it would be accessible, and also the broken red foothills running 

 down to the plain, and a considerable stream : unfortunately I only remained 

 there a few minutes. 



Qaz^'in in December 1918 and January 1919 was most unpleasant, but at any 

 rate showed one which species could endure the cold (down to 10'* F. and some- 

 times 0'^ F. at night), and the wind, which was sometimes terrific, and the snow 

 of which there was only a little. The following birds were fairly common. 

 Rook {Corvus frugilegus), Persian Wagtail {Motacilla alba persica) (of which no 

 specimens v/ere obtained), House Sparrow {Passer domesticus biblicus), Great 

 Tit (P. m. blanfordi). Black Kite (sp ?), Griffon Vulture {Gyps fulvus) : the 

 following were seen rarely. Raven, Magpie, Grey Wagtail, Goldfinch (C c. 

 h'irmM), Common Snipe {Gallinago coelestis), Crested Lark, Linnet {Acanthis 

 linota fringillirostris) and Chukor : the following once only, Eversmann's Red- 

 start, Syrian Pied Woodpecker, Golden Eagle {Aquila chryscetus), and Song 



