Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. 45 
I11.—Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan.—No. Il. On 
the Birds of the Hariab District. By RK. G. Warpiaw 
Ramsay, F.Z.S., Memb. B.O.U., Lieut. 67th Regiment. 
Aw unexpected return to England has defeated the plan I 
had in view of periodically transmitting my notes and remarks 
on the ornithology of Afghanistan to the pages of ‘ The Ibis.’ 
I venture now, however, to present to its readers a list of 
the birds observed and obtained during my sojourn in that 
country. 
The situation of the particular portion of Afghan territory 
to which my researches were restricted has already been 
briefly described (vide Ibis, 1879, pp. 444, 445). 
The marches through the Kurrum valley to our desti- 
nation were of too hurried a nature to admit of much atten- 
tion being devoted to its ornithology ; so I have, in general, 
refrained from referring to birds there observed, as speci- 
mens were not collected, and consequently identifications 
would, in many cases, be mere conjectures and therefore of 
little or no value. 
The climate of the valley where our troops, under Major- 
General Sir F. Roberts, were encamped during the spring 
and summer of 1879 is very pleasant during the summer 
months, the heat at no time being very great. During the 
winter, however, the cold is intense, as is testified by our 
troops who took part in the early stage of the campaign. 
Until the end of April we had continual falls of snow, and 
the weather was bitterly cold. It is therefore not surprising 
that the number of species found in the valley in that month 
should be very small, and almost entirely composed of non- 
migratory birds, such as the Paride and the Emberizine, the 
Himalayan Creeper, and the Sittine. The country being 
almost entirely covered with pine-forests, except where cleared 
for cultivation, is an additional reason for the poverty of 
species in the valley. 
On reference to the Survey map of the country, it will be 
seen that the Kurrum valley proper is divided from that 
