AVES. 135 



_^^ ^ Genus STERNA. 



dil. Sterna tibetana. 



Sterna fluviatilis, Hume & Renders. Lahore to Yark.p. 303 (1873) ; Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 203 (1876). 

 Sterna tibetana, Saunders, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 649. 

 ? Sterna hirundo, Severtz. Ibis, 1883, p. 77. 



Nos. 1704 1785, 1787. Yarkand, May 21-25, 1874..— Iris red. 



In his ' Diary ' Dr. Stoliczka mentions his finding this Tern breeding in a jheel near 

 Yarkand in May. 



Dr. Henderson found the species very abundant in August in Yarkand, and he also met 

 with it at Lukung near the Pangong Lake, in which neighbourhood it also probably breeds. 



Dr. Scully writes :— " This Tern arrives in the plains of Eastern Turkestan in April, and 

 migrates about September ; it breeds in June. This species was exceedingly numerous about 

 Yarkand, fishing over pools, marshes, rice-fields, and inundated fields; its principal food 

 seems to consist of a small fish which occurs very plentifully in Kashgharia, called " Tini 

 halik: This bird has a harsh shrill cry, and is called in Tm^ki ' BalakcMJ the ' Fisher.' " 



312. Sterna minuta. 



Sternula minuta (L.) ; Hume & Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 303 (1873) -, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. 



p. 70 (1873) ; Blanf . East. Persia, ii. p. 294 (1876) ; Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 204 (1876) ; Dresser, Ibis, 



1876, p. 416. 

 Sterna minuta, Scully, J. A. S. Beng. Ivi. p. 88 (1887). 



Common in Yarkand, according to Dr. Henderson. 



" This Tern," says Dr. Scully, " was frequently observed throughout the months of June 

 and July in the neighbourhood of Yarkand. It associated with Sterna tibetana, but was very 

 much less numerous than that species. It is a seasonal visitant only to Eastern Turkestan, 

 arriving about May and leaving certainly before the beginning of October. It breeds in 

 Kashgharia, where it is known by the name of ' BaUikcJii,^ the ' Eisher.' " 



Genus H YDROCHELIDON. 

 313. Hydrochelidon hybrida. 



Hydrochelidon indica, Hume & Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 301 (1873) ; Prjev. in Rowley^s Orn. Misc. 



iii. p. 145 (1878). 

 Hydrochelidon leucopareius, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. 70 (1873). 

 Hydrochetidon hybrida, Dresser, Ibis, 1876, p. 416; Saunders, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 640; Blanf. East. Persia 



ii. p. 294 (1876) ; Bidd. Ibis, 1881, p. 102; Scully, t. c. p. 594. 



Nos. 180, 181. Wular Lake, near Srinagar, July 26, 1873. 

 Nos. 208, 211. Srinagar, July 29, 1873. 



Dr. Stoliczka' s ' Diary ' contains a note on the 26th of July, on the breeding of this Tern 

 on the Wular Lake, where he found nests with one or two eggs. " Sometimes it is said to 

 lay three ; but men assured me there are already many young, and this is perhaps a case of 

 late breeding." 



Dr. Henderson states that this species was very common in Kashmir in June, breeding 

 close to Srinarar. 



