BIRDS FROM NORTHERN AND WESTERN PERSIA. 869 



rarer, because E. r. caucasicus goes away to Caucasia to breed. E. r. hyrcanus 

 remains and no doubt breeds in the forest, but becomes even more retiring. 

 The specimen shot on 21st March had greatly enlarged testes. I saw, but did 

 not obtain Robins at Kermanshah in November and December 1918, Both 

 sub-species are found on the River Tigris at Amara in winter. 



Frunella modularis orientalis (Sharpe) — Caspian Hedge-Sparrow. 

 2 2 , Resht — February. 



I have compared my Hedge- Sparrows with a long series of the typical form 

 and with two specimens labelled " orientalis " at Tring (from the Talish), and 

 with Woosnam's single specimens from the " S. coast of the Caspian " (record- 

 ed by Witherby (1910) as .-Jcccwtor modyfam blanfordi). Sharpe originally des- 

 cribed orientalis from Batum, and until a series is forthcommg from that place 

 one cannot be certain that these birds are Sharpe's race ; but at any rate the 

 Resht, Tahsh, and " S. Coast of Caspian " specimens agree with one another, 

 and differ from P. m. modularis in being less rufous above and more brownish 

 (less grey) on the sides of the neck and on the throat. Provsionally I refer 

 them to orientalis, Sharpe. 



Of the status of Zarudny's Accentor modularis blanfordi (1904), to which 

 Woosnam's specimen was referred by Witherby, we know nothing beyond 

 Zarudny's description according to which it is quite a distinct race with um- 

 colorous crown, &c. It was described from oakwoods S. and S. W. of Ispahan, 

 and it does not seem probable that Woosnam's specimens would be referable 

 to it. 



Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus, Zen-, and Loudon ( ? ) — Wren. 

 1 J , Kermanshah — December 1918. 

 1 (5 , 1 ? J Resht, January — February. 



Wrens were not uncommon at Kermanshah, Asadabad, and other places in 

 the plateau in winter in brambles &c., in the gardens, but they were of course 

 exceedingly difficult to shoot. They were common at Resht and Enzeli in winter 

 and probably in summer also, though it became impossible to see them after 

 the leaves came out. I find it impossible to identify these three skins satis- 

 factorily : they are very grey in general colour and this is most noticeable in 

 the under tail coverts, and I cannot distinguish them from series of Wrens from 

 the Terek, Vladikavkaz, and other places in Ciscaucasia. They are probably the 

 form hyrcanus, Zar and Loudon; on the other hand it is not unlikely that Wrens 

 from Kermanshah, &c., would be T. t. zagrossiensis, Zar and Loud. (1908). 

 Members of the Society in Persia are strongly urged to collect series of Wrens 

 from any part of the country in which they occur : two or three forms have 

 been desciibed by Russian ornithologists, but we have no sk'ns and no know- 

 ledge of these forms at all. 



Hirundo rustica, subsp. — Swallow. 



1 $, Tehran— 13th June (R. E. C). 



The Swallow arrived at Enzeli on 28th February, remained through the summer 

 and bred commonly. I find it impossible to identify this single specimen. The 

 underside is more suffused with reddish brown than is at all usual in C. r. rustica 

 L., but is not so dark red-brown as it is in C.r. transitiva, Hartert, which is resident 

 in Palestine, and in turn leads on to C. r. savignii, Steph, with a deep red-brown 

 breast. Specimens similar to mine, and more or less intermediate between 

 H. r. rustica and H. r. transitiva are, I believe, not unusual in Egypt, Palestine, 

 &c. 

 Hirundo daurica rufula, Temm. — Red-rumped Swallow. 



The Red-rumped Swallow was seen by Cheesman at Karind in May, where a 

 pair were hawking flies in a rocky gorge. There was no evidence that they were 

 breeding. This appears to be its most northerly occurrence in Persia. 



