80 



bird he obtained was merely an under-coloured example of Phylloscopus tristis. I am indebted 

 to Dr. Radde for specimens from Transcaspia, where, he says (I. c), "This Warbler is common 

 amongst the elevated junipers in the mountains where it breeds. Dr. Walter often met with it 

 when ascending the Ak-dagh at Domtschi, Kurtseverdeh-tschesme, and on the Guljuli Plateau." 

 Mr. Zarudny also records it (Bull. Soc. Mosc. iii. p. 777) as being "common in the juniper 

 region in the mountains of the Eastern Kopepet-dagh, where it frequents the bushes on the 

 slopes, cavities, and defiles. Late in April I observed it, probably on passage, in the oases of 

 Ahal and Atek. Specimens killed late in April had almost completed their moult." 



According to Mr. Pleske, Russoff obtained two males at the breeding-places on the 

 Iskander-kul in August 1878. Mr. Grum-Grzimailo procured one in Buchara in the same 

 month, and Dr. Severtzoff records it as occurring in the mountains of Turkestan. Sir Oliver 

 St. John states (Ibis, 1889, p. 165) that he obtained it at Kandahar and Quetta ; and according 

 to Mr. Oates (Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 406) it is found in winter " throughout Upper Sind, 

 along the banks of the Indus." Mr. A. O. Hume records it (Stray Feathers, 1873, p. 196) as 

 being " common in the cold weather in the Punjab and in the Doab, at least as low down as 

 Agra, but hitherto I have seen no specimen from Central India or the Lower Doab. This tiny 

 little leaf-hunter, the smallest of the whole group, is not uncommon along the banks of the 

 Indus, and throughout Upper Sind wherever thick clumps of the bubul (Acacia arabica) are 

 met with. It is a very silent self-concealing bird, creeping about amongst the feathery 

 leaves of the acacia, and very difficult to secure." Mr. W. E. Brooks also writes (Stray Feathers, 

 1879, p. 480) : — " It is the most timid and watchful little Sylvia I ever met with. The moment 

 it hears the intruder it begins to mount its bush, vigorously uttering its churring note ; as soon 

 as it sees one it flies, and the only way to get it is to run in the direction of the sound and take 

 a snap shot the moment you get a glimpse at it." 



Beyond the above short notes I find nothing on record respecting the habits of this Warbler. 

 There is no doubt that it breeds in Transcaspia and Turkestan, but its nest and eggs are as yet 

 unknown. 



There appears to be a somewhat larger form of this Warbler which also occurs in Sind, and 

 was described by Mr. Brooks (I. c.) as a distinct species, under the name of P. sindianus ; while 

 Mr. Oates also separates these two forms and states that the larger form " resembles P. neglectus 

 so closely as to require no separate description, and only differs in being larger." The differences 

 in size he gives as follows, viz. : — P. neglectus: wing 1*85 to 2T, first primary - 6, second primary 

 equal to the eighth or ninth, tail T5 to 1-65, tarsus 0'7 to 0-75, bill from gape 0'4 ; and 

 P. sindianus: wing 2 - 05 to 2*4, first primary 06, second equal to the ninth, tail L75 to 2 - 05, 

 tarsus - 7 to - 8, bill from gape - 5. I do not, however, think it advisable to separate these 

 two forms merely on account of a slight difference in size, especially as they inhabit the same 

 locality. The Russian authors, however, treat Phylloscopus sindianus as being a form of 

 P. tristis, and Pleske goes so far as to place neglectus in the genus Lusciniola, and sindianus in 

 the genus Phylloscopus; I am indebted to him for a specimen of what he considers to be 

 Phylloscopus sindianus, which is labelled " Phylloscopus tristis, var. sindianus, <$ , Aksu-Darja 

 (Pevtzoff)," which measures wing 2'2, first quill 0"9 shorter than the second, which is inter- 

 mediate between the seventh and eighth, and which is certainly not P. sindianus of Brooks and 



