Notes from Mesopotamia. 393 



{Numenius arquata) was noted near Tekrit, and a solitary 

 Avocet (Recurvirustra avocetta) adorned a sandspit near 

 Bagdad. Of other Waders the following were identified : — 



Redshank {Totanus calidris). 



Green Sand^aiper [T. ochropus). 



Common Sandpiper [T. hypoleucus). 



Dunlin {Tringa alpina). 



Little Stint {T. minuta). 



Curlevv Sandjjiper [T. subarcjuato?). 



Snipe are plentiful near Basra and Mohammerah in the 

 "winter, whilst a Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) was killed at 

 Bagdad some years ago. 



A noticeable feature of travelling up the Tigris is the 

 quantity of Gulls that follow the boat. At Mohammerah 

 and Basra the Black-headed Gull [Larus ridibundus) is 

 abundant, but was not seen north of Kurna. The Dark- 

 backed Herring Gull (L. affinis) was seen on the S hat-el- 

 Arab and on the Tigris as far north as Amara. A few 

 Yellow-legged Herring Gulls (L. cachinnans) were seen at 

 Fao and Basra, and were the only Gulls at and north of 

 Bagdad. They were also frequently seen far from the river, 

 scouring the desert for food. A Tern, usually singly or 

 in pairs, was occasionally seen on the Tigris between Basra 

 and Bagdad. I was unable to identify the species. 



No river scene in Mesopotamia would be complete without 

 the Pelican, probably Pelecanus onocrotaliis. It is par- 

 ticularly tame in these parts, and in the middle of the day 

 one can frequently pass within a few yards of a party of 

 them asleep on a sandy island, as one silently floats down 

 stream on a raft. 



However out of the way of water, and no matter how far 

 from the sea, there will be found the Cormorant {Phala- 

 crocorax carbo), Mesopotamia is no exception, and this bird 

 was found the whole length of the river. It is remarkable 

 how it catches its food in such a muddy river as the Tigris, 

 which is a dark brown in colour and which contains five 



