Notes from Mesopotamia. 389 



elsewhere one finds an expanse of rich uncultivated soil, 

 that only requires water to convert desert to the ancient 

 Garden of Eden. Around Mosul the country becomes hilly, 

 and carpeted with short crisp grass^ broken at intervals by 

 outcrops of white gypsum. 



Of Passerine birds, the Corvidse are well represented. 

 The Raven (^Corvus cor ax) was seen as far south as Kut 

 and was fairly abundant near Tekrit and Mosul, but never 

 in flocks. It was shy, and not so tame as the large flocks 

 of these birds, which visit India every cold weather. The 

 Hooded Crow (C. comix) is abundant from Fao to Bagdad. 

 Parther north it becomes scarcer, and none were seen at 

 Mosul. The farther south these birds were seen, the whiter 

 became their mantle. Some seen at Basra appeared pure 

 black and white, the latter having a faint pink tinge. This 

 variety (C. capellanus) was never observed north of Bagdad, 

 whilst only one of the ashy-grey mantled birds was noticed 

 south of Bagdad. Rooks {C.frugilegus) were in enormous 

 flocks from Bagdad northwards, and a few were seen between 

 Kut and Amara. A large flock of Jackdaws (C. moneduld) 

 was seen at Mosul, but none elsewhere. Magpies (Pica 

 rusticd) are common around Bagdad, Babylon, Kerbela, and 

 northwards, and are extremely tame. They can frequently 

 be seen perched on camels' backs. 



The White-eared Bulbul {Molpastes leucotis) is very com- 

 mon at Mohammerah and Basra, and a few were seen at 

 Bagdad and Babylon. The Allied Grey Shrike [Lanius 

 assimilis) was seen at Sheremieh on Jan. 16, and several 

 rinsch''s Grey Shrikes (L. fallax) were noted on the lower 

 Tigris near Kurna. 



Gould's Starling (Sturnus purpurascens) was everywhere 

 abundant and roosts in vast flocks in the marshes of the 

 lower Tigris. 



I had hoped to see many sorts of Chat, as the country is 

 so eminently suited to them, but only the Wheatear (Saxi- 

 cola oenanthe) was noted, and it was scarce around Babylon 

 and Tekrit. Among the ruins of Babylon, Nineveh, and 



