BIRDS FROM NORTHERN AND WESTERN PERSIA. 859 



sandhills for a week. Through May I occasionally saw them amongst the 

 other sub-species and at the end of May they were obviously nesting among 

 brambles on the reedy islands of the Enzeli lagoon. Several pairs bred 

 without the least doubt, but I never found the nest. Cheesman shot one of 

 the males on 28th Jmie, the testes were enlarged. 



Motacilla flava campastris. Pall. — Yellow Wagtail. 

 6 J, Enzeli— 17-27th April. 



M. f. beema, Sykes. — Grey-headed Wagtail. 

 3d. Enzeli— 22-24th April. 



M. /. thunbergi, Billberg {viridis. Gmelui, borealis., Sund). — Sykes' Yellow 



Wagtail. 



5(S. Enzeli— 24th April. 



In the last ten days in April huge mixed flocks of the Yellow-headed, Grey- 

 headed, and Sykes' Yellow Wagtails appeared on the sandhills and grazing 

 grounds round Enzeh, M. f. campestris was the commonest, 31. f. beema and 

 M. f. thunbergi both common. About J or i of the total number of birds were 

 males. These flocks continued to pass through Enzeli throughout May. By 

 25th May | of the whole were females of various sub-species ; among the males 

 M. f. thunbergi was commonest, J/. /. beema common and 31. f. campestris quite 

 uncommon. A few Yellow Wagtails {31. flava sub-sp.) passed through Qazvin 

 7th September and onwards. 



3Iotacilla cinerea. Leach. — Grey Wagtail. 



Grey Wagtails are not rare in winter both in the uplands (Kermanshah 

 November 1918. Qazvin December 1918 common) and in the low country 

 round Resht. They were last seen round Resht in the third week in March. 

 Cheesman saw one male at Gulahek, Tehran on 11th June. No specimens were 

 obtained. 



I do not know to which race the specimens seen belonged. Zarudny records 

 the Western 31. cinerea cinerea {31. b. boarula) and 31. c. melanope {31. boarula 

 melanope) from various parts of Persia, the first mentioned as a breeding bird. 



3Iotacilla alba alba, L. — White W^agtail. 

 1 J. Menjil— 1st April. 

 1 2 , Enzeli— 27th April. 



31. alba dukhunensis, Sykes. 



1 $ , Qazvin— 16th December 1918. 

 1 $ , Qazvin — ith January. 

 2^, Resht, and Enzeli— February March 

 1 $ , Qazvin — 1st September 



31. alba persica, Blanf. 



\$, Tehran to Qazvin Road— 18th June (R. E. C). 



1^, Qazvin — 1st September. 

 The correct identification of White Wagtails is always a difficult matter. 

 M. alba alba, the ordinary " White W^agtail ", is probably a migrant on spring 

 and autum passage. 3/. a. dukhunensis was the commonest form, and was 

 seen in winter all the way from the Mesopotamian border through Kermanshah 

 and Hamadan to Qazvin and on to Resht and Enzeli. At the last two loca- 

 lities it was not common in winter, but it became more frequent at the end of 

 February and was seen once or twice a week from then until I left the place 

 in July ; family parties were seen on 2nd June, and I think we may be prac- 

 tically certain that this sub-species nested in or near Enzeli and Resht. I was 

 27 



