53 [Vol. xli. 



Dimensions of the type : — Wing 230 mm., tail 129 mm., 

 tarsus 73 mm., bill 31 mm, 



6 specimens collected in Darfur and Western Kordofan. 



4 adult males. Wings 230-247 mm., tails 120-129 mm. 



1 young male. Wing 230 mm. (very worn), tail 128 mm. 



1 male (in spirit). 



I name this species in honour o£ Colonel Savile Pasha, the 

 first British Grovernor of Darfur. 



Dr. C. B. TiCEHUKST gave a short account of the Avifauna 

 of Mesopotamia, and made the 'following remarks : — As no 

 doubt many of you are aware I have been engaged for 

 some time past in working out the Birds of Mesopotamia 

 from the field-notes and collections (2500 specimens) made 

 by the British Expeditionary Force during the late war, a 

 long and difficult work which is now nearing completion, 

 and which I hope, early next year, will be published by the 

 Bombay Natural History Society. I thought, therefore, 

 that it might interest members if I made here a few remarks 

 on the subject and exhibited a few of the more interesting 

 birds. Mesopotamia is* for the most part alluvial plain, 

 cultivated in the neighbourhood of canals and rivers, or in 

 places given over to scrub jungle, while away from irri- 

 gation it is barren and the lower part absolutely stoneless. 

 Above the Median Wall, however, N. of Baghdad, commences 

 undulating tableland more or less stony and rocky, and 

 rocky cliffs are to be found bordering the Tigris, while at 

 Fatah Gorge the Jebel-Hamrin range crosses the Tigris, 

 and running S.E. to Ahwaz, forms the eastern boundary.. 

 The western boundary is the edge of the Arabian desert 

 bordering the Euphrates. Trees, except the date palm, are 

 everywhere comparatively scarce. In the plain, due to 

 overflowing of the rivers, there are many large swamps, 

 some permanent, some temporary. Such then, is a rough 

 outline of the country. 



The fauna is essentially Palsearctic, and many of the 

 species are those we are accustomed to in Europe. It is, 



a3 



