10 



marizes the work of the Russian naturalists in that quarter of the globe, and says that 

 the Sand-Martin is widely spread in Eastern Siberia. Mr. Godlewski noticed it every- 

 where in small numbers, but in Dauria there are many localities where it is very abundant 

 and breeds. Dr. MiddendorfF observed the species in the neighbourhood of Oudskoi- 

 Ostrog, but not in such numbers as the Chimney-Swallow. 



According to Von Schrenck it is very common on the Amur, nesting on the steep 

 sandy banks of the river and its islands, the banks being generally by no means high 

 and washed by the waters of the stream : the birds were nesting in small companies and 

 never in such numbers as in Europe. Some of the nests were placed so near to the level 

 of the water as to threaten their destruction on the least flood. Przewalski did not find 

 the species on the Ussuri or in the basin of Lake Hanka. Steller and Dr. Dybowski 

 have met with the species in Kamtsehatka. On the 1st of September Przewalski saw 

 an enormous company of Sand-Martins going south in the valley of the Chuan-he. In 

 the island of Sakhalin Mr. Nikolski observed the species in restricted numbers in the 

 neighbourhood of Alexandrowka and in the Korsakoff Post. Poljakoff has noticed a 

 number of these Martins in the lower course of the river Tym. 



Dr. Taczanowski also included Gotile sinensis as occurring in Eastern Siberia ; and 

 he based this conclusion on five examples procured by Mr. Janskowski on the Sidemi 

 Paver, close to the frontier bet^veen Ussuri Land and China, not far from Vladiowstock. 

 Mr. Stolzmann has very kindly submitted some of these specimens to us for examina- 

 tion, and we find that they are absolutely G. riparia, and not even the pale form of 

 it, which really does somewhat resemble C. sinensis in appearance. 



General Przewalski's note on the species is as follows : — " Tolerably common in 

 S.E. Mongolia, but is rather scarce about Ordos and Ala-shan, and does not occur at all 

 in Kan-su. It breeds in the former localities in small companies of from three to five 

 pairs, on the sides of rivulets, and sometimes in the liills of the stepj)e at great distances 

 from the water. On the 6th of June I took a nest with six perfectly fresh eggs, 

 and on the 18th of the same month we found some very young birds. They arrive in 

 spring in S.E. Mongolia at the end of April and leave at the end of August ; on the 20th 

 of this month we observed, in the Hoang-ho valley, an enormous flock migrating south." 



In Kamtsehatka, Dr. Stejneger says, " the Sand-Martin occurs in the vicinity of 

 Petropaulowski, but is not, as it would seem, very common. It has been said to visit the 

 island of Bering occasionally, but I have doubts as to the correctness of the statement, 

 as no sj)ecimeus seem to have been obtained. It is certain that it was not seen there 

 during my sojourn." Three sets of eggs were obtained in Kamtsehatka, the measure- 

 ments of which are given. " All the eggs were very evenly speckled with minute black 

 dots. These could be w^ashed away completely from the fresh eggs, while a year after- 

 wards they are diflicult to remove, if it can be done at all." 



Mr. Seebohm says that the Sand-Martin is a summer visitant to Japan, but is 

 nowhere very abundant, according to Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer. His collection 

 contains four examples sent by Captain Blakiston from Yezzo, and two specimens from 

 Yokohama collected by the late Mr. H. Pryer. 



In China Swinhoe noticed the species near Pekin in summer, and Mr. E. W. Styan 



