BIRDS I ROM NORTHERN AND WESTERN PERSIA, 851 



Corvus comix sharpii. Gates. — Sharpe's Crow. 



Imm. $ 8th June, Gulahek, Teheran. (R. E. C.) 



Iris bhie-grey, feet black, bill grey-horn. 



I have re-examined Woosnam's specimens from tlie South coast of the Caspian, 

 shot in March. Witherby is undoubtedly correct in identifying them as C. c. 

 sharpii. I take it then that the grey Crow breeding in the Caspian Provinces 

 is Sharpe's and not the Hooded Crow, in spite of Zarudny's statement that C. c. 

 comix is resident here. Crows which I believe were C. c. sharpii bred commonly 

 at Enzeli— lining nests 14 March, several nests still empty 10th April, feathered 

 young fell from nest 27th April. Young were flying about in numbers by the 

 end of May. In the plateau Cheesman found young fledged in nest 2.5th May, 

 Kermanshah, and saw them fljdng about 6th June, Teheran. We do not know 

 were the boundary lies between the breeding ranges of C. c. sharpii and C. c. 

 capellanus, which breeds in Mesopotamia, and which is always associated, in 

 my mind at any rate with the Date Palm. 



Corvus frugilegus, L. — Rook. 



A very few small parties of rooks were seen between Kermanshah and Qaz-van 

 in December 1918. At Qazvin they breed in numbers in the to-\\a"i, in plane 

 and poplar trees : presumably these rooks are C. f. tschiisii. Hart., but no skins 

 are available. The rook is abundant at Qazvin at all seasons. 



Rooks are abundant at Resht and Enzeli in winter. They completely disap- 

 peared in the second half of March. 



Colceris monedula, L. — Jac^kdaw. 



Jackdaws appeared at Qazvin on 18th October 1919. They were completely 

 absent in summer, and bj' no means common in winter. I never saw them bet- 

 ween the frontier and Hamadan in November and December 1918. 



The specimens seen appeared to belong to the race generally known as collaris 

 (Drummond), a name which must be replaced by the earlier Scemmeringii 

 (Fischer). 



Pica pica bactriana, Bp. — Magpie. 



1 J , Karind — November 1918. 



2 5 , Resht — January Februarj'. 



The Magpie was seen in all parts of Persia which we Aasited, from the frontier 

 to the Caspian. It was common in most of the gardens and small woods of the 

 plateau, and extremely common in Gilan ; in all places it appeared to be resi- 

 dent. Besides these specimens I have had the pleasure of examining a series 

 of twelve Magpies collected by Lieut-Col. J. E. B. Hotson, at and near Shiraz. 

 The wings of the males measure 198-208 mm, of the females 196-209 mm, 

 and one exceptionally small specimen 188 ; my male from Karind measures 

 207, and one female from Resht 190. It is evident that the great development 

 of white in the primaries is a more constant character than the broadly white 

 rump : the presence or absence of T\'hite at the bases of the chin feathers is 

 very variable, and useless as a sub-specific character. Though jNIagpies are 

 to some extent variable birds it should always I think be possible to separate 

 P. p. bactriana from the tvpical race, even if only a single skin is available. 

 Zarudny records the Magpie of N. &. W. Persia (the Caspian Province included) 

 as " P. pica ", that of S. & E. Persia as P. p. bactriana, but my Resht specimens 

 appear to be definitely P. p. bactriana. 



Garrulus glandarius hyrcamis, Blanf. — Jay. 



1$, 19th February (Wing 159 'mm.) Resht. 

 1 S , Tula Rud, Persian Talish, sea level, 6th July (wing 173 mm). 

 I found the Jay of Gilan and Mazanderan common in the dry forests on hill- 

 sides at Menjil, and Noglabar ; also in the wet forests round Resht and in the 

 equally wet forests of the Persian Talish below mean sea level. 

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