Nearest 

 allies. 



258 



GLAEEOLA. 



The Common Pratincole is most nearly allied to Nordmann's Pratincole, and Severtzow 

 says (Journ. Orn. 1875, p. 183) that intermediate forms between them occur in Turkestan, 

 but I have never seen anything of the kind. The general direction of migration of the 

 Common Pratincole leads to the supposition that its ancestors were isolated during the 

 Post-Pliocene Glacial Epoch in North Africa. 



GLAREOLA ORIENTALIS. 



ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE. 



Diagnosis. Glareola axillaribus castaneis : rectricum pogoniorum externorum basalibus partibus totis albis 

 cauda non valde furcata (adultorum etiam minus quam 30 millim.). 



Variations. It is not known that this species is subject to any local variation. 



