578 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Tagilsk, the chief locality where the celebrated iron-mines of Prince 

 Demidoff are situated. 



The Chough of Eastern Asia and China (var. orimtalis) has been sepa- 

 rated on the ground of its having a shorter tarsus and foot. This seems, 

 however, to be principally a question of sex, the female having a shorter 

 tarsus than the male. Examples from the Himalayas were described as a 

 distinct species by Gould (Proc. Zool. Soc. 18G2, p. 135), under the 

 name of Fregilus himalatjanus. This local race is undoubtedly worthy of 

 mention, although it can only be regarded as a subspecies, as inter- 

 mediate forms are found. Specimens from Europe and China measure 

 from 11 1 to 10] inch in length of wing; whilst those from India vary 

 from 13^ to llj inch. Birds from intermediate localities are intermediate, 

 however, as a series from Asia Minor, Persia, and Turkestan vary from 

 12i to Hi inch. 



The Chough, like the Rook and the Jackdaw, lives in colonies. Its 

 haunts are the tall beetling cliffs, the rugged rocks which descend sheer down 

 into a boiling sea and are quite inaccessible to all but the most intrepid 

 cragsman or venturesome oologist eager to enrich his cabinet with 

 " British-taken" specimens of its eggs. A haunt of the Chough is usually 

 also a sea-bird's haunt. On the face of the stupendous cliffs the Puffin 

 and the GuiUemot sit quietly ; and lower down the noisy Kittiwakes ever 

 and anon flutter into the air and join the black-coated Choughs, whose 

 notes mingle with the cries of the sea-birds and the dull roar of the ever- 

 restless waves below. 



Dixon met with the Chough in Algeria, and made the following notes 

 of its habits there : — " It was not until we reached the highest parts 

 of the Djebel Aures that we met with the Chough. At Coustantine the 

 place seems admirably suited to its needs ; but the Jackdaw is the only 

 Corvine inhabitant of these magnificent rocks. When making the ascent 

 of Djebel Mahmel, some twelve miles south-east of Lambessa, we observed 

 quite a colony of the birds in a low ridge of roeks, on the side of one of 

 the barren stony valleys near the snow-capped summit of this fine moun- 

 tain. Fifty or more birds could be seen in the air together, beating slowly 

 along the rugged face of the cliff's ; and every now and then one or two 

 would enter their nest-holes, or just as frequently a pair would fly 

 hurriedly out of them. How the birds obtained a sustenance up in these 

 sterile mountain solitudes might well give cause for wonder ; yet we coiild 

 repeatedly see them upon the stony ground apparently in search of food. 

 I sometimes noticed one of the birds as it flew along the cliffs drop 

 suddenly down amongst tlxe rocks ; but, as they were exceedingly shy, I 

 could never get an opportunity of finding out the cause of the bird's lisit 

 to the earth : it may have been to capture a small insect or beetle or a 

 locust. Upon another occasion we met with a smaller colony of Choughs 



