880 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, lol. XXVII, 



Ballus aqualkus lorzjewi, Zar. — Water E ail. 

 15, Resht— 16th February. 



■.This specimen was shot from reeds at the side of the lagoon between Eesht 

 and Enzeli : the ovaries were not enlarged ; the wing measures 127 mm., the 

 bill 45 mm. (exposed culmen). Woosnam's specimens from the " S Coast of 

 the Caspian " are also referable to this form. 



Water rails vary considerably in the colours of the dorsum, in any one locality. 

 This race is distinguished by its pale dorsum, which is an olive brown rather than 

 a reddish brown, but there seems to be a certain amoont of overlapping between 

 R. a. lorejeur and R. a. aquaticus. It appears to range from Babyloma 

 through Central Asia to E. China and to be found in India in winter. 



Fulica alra, L. — Common Coot. 



The Common Coot is extremely common on the lagoon, and on deeply flooded 

 rice fields in winter, but I have no record of seeing it after the third week in 

 March at all. 



Porzana porzana, (L.}— Spotted Crake. 

 (P. maruetta, Leach). 



1 ^ Menjil— 31st March. 

 My only record is a specimen picked up dead under a telegraph wire ; the 

 testes were small. 



Coturnix coturnix coiurnix, L. — Common Quail, 

 1 $ , 20th April— Enzeli. 

 The Common Quail was fairly common at Enzeli from 14th April till eaily 

 May among wild pomegranate bushes just inland of the sand hills. 



Perdix perdix canescens, Butur. — Common Partridge. 



IJ, 1 sex? October— Zinj an (C. M. L), 



The two specimens of the Common Partridge obtained for Ingoldby at Zln- 

 jan are a male and female just passing into adult plumage. They agree fairly 

 well with specimens from Eregli and Lake Urumiyah, and Dr. Hartert is in- 

 clined to refer them to the form described as canescens hy Buturlin from Tra- 

 nscaucasia. Specimens of the Common Partridge from any Asiatic locality 

 are very rare in British collections. I never heard of this species being seen 

 round Qazvin, and am fairly confident that it does not occur there ; I believe 

 that in Persia it is confined to the province of Azerbaijan. Blanford records 

 it on hearsay as far east as the Tehran neighbourhood. 



Aledoris grceca (Brisson) {Caccahis chuJmr, G. R. Grey). — Chukor. 



The Chukor is common and often abundant all over the rocky hills in all the 

 parts of Persia which we visited, and in winter it comes down in to the plains, 

 so that in snowy weather it is sometimes found quite close to Qazvin. It does 

 not really enter the Gilan forest though I have seen it among thick trees at 

 Noglabar. Cheesman sav/ it as high as 10,000 feet, in the mountains behind 

 Tehran in June. 



Ammoperdix grkeogidaris (jriseognlaris (Brandt.) (A. lonliami, G. R. Gray.) — 



See See. 



4 d , 2 $ , S. of Menjil— October. 



The See See of the Elburz is undoubtly the typical race. Though the species 

 was not widely distributed like the Chukor it v/as locally common in the dry 

 stony hills S. of Menjil. This country resembled the country round Qasr-i- 

 Shirin, where the other form of the same bird was so common ; the species 

 frequents ground which is hillocky rather than mountainous and was abundant 

 round Menjil among the innumerable nullahs. One hardly saw the birds by day 

 but in the dusk they came do^mi on to the main road and fed on mules droppings; 

 at that time they were very tame. 



