266 



Scinde and also in Upper Burrnah. I have only examined one specimen from Darjeeling, in the 

 collection of Lord Walden. 

 Pratincola insignis, Hodgson (Joum. As. Soc. xvi. p. 129), is said by Dr. Jcrdon to be similar to P. rubicola, 

 but larger, having a white throat and a much larger wing-spot. It lias, lie writes, been met with in 

 Nepal only, and probably comes from the most northern districts. I have not had an opportunity of 

 examining a specimen. 



From the following Table it will be seen how far the measurements of P. rubicola, from various localities, 

 and of the various allied species vary : — 



Pratincola rubicola 



Pratincola lieniprichii 

 Pratincola leucura 

 Pratincola robusta 

 Pratincola sybilla . 

 Pratincola torguata 

 Pratincola borbonica . 





Culmen. 



Wing. 



Tail. 



Tarsus. 





inch. 



inches. 



inches. 



inch. 



England. 



0-5 -0-6 



2-55-2-65 



1-95-2-05 



0-85-0-9 



Spain. 



00 — 



2-6 — 



2-0 — 



0-9 — 



Italy. 



0-55-0-6 



2-45-2-7 



1-85-2-1 



0-85-0-92 



Greece. 



0-5 — 



2-4. — 



1-85 — 



0-9 — 



Cyprus. 



0-6 — 



2-5 — 



2-0 — 



0-9 — 



Asia .Minor. 



00 — 



2-51 — 



1-9 — 



0-85 — 



Palestine. 



0-G — 



25 -2-6 



1-95-21 



0-9 -095 



Egypt. 



0-6 — 



2-5 — 



2-0 — 



0-9 — 



Algeria. 



0-6 -0-63 



2-5 -27 



21 -215 



09 -1-0 



N.W. India. 



0-52-0-6 



2-5 -2-75 



1-8 -215 



0-8 -09 



Cashmere. 



0-5 — 



2-55 — 



1-9 — 



0-9 — 



Lake Baikal. 



0-58 — 



2-6 — 



2-1 — 



09 — 



China. 



0-52-0-6 



2-6 -2-7 



1-9 -21 



0-8 -0-85 



Japan. 



0-6 — 



2-55-2-65 



2-05-2-15 



0-8 -0-85 



Dakar. 



0-55 — 



2-85 — 



1-9 — 



0-9 — 



Darjeeling. 



0-55 — 



2-6 — 



1-95 — 



0-9 — 



Himalayas. 



0-6 -0-65 



2-75-2-8 



2-25-2-3 



0-85-0-95 



Madagascar. 



0-6 — 



2-5 — 



2-05 — 



0-9 — 



South Africa 



0-6 -0-62 



2-7 -2-8 



21 -22 



0-9 -0-92 



Bourbon. 



0-58-0-6 



2-55-265 



21 -2-15 



0-9 -095 



Tin: Stone-Chat is found throughout Central, and to some extent the milder parts of Northern 

 Europe, down into Northern Africa. Eastward its range extends through India to China and 

 Japan. 



With us in Great Britain it is a resident ; but it seems that some portion of those that have 

 bred here leave England in the autumn and return again in the spring. Still it is in the winter 

 season by no means a rare bird in many parts of England ; for it is rather local in its distribution, 

 though found in every county throughout Great Britain. Mr. R. Gray states that in Scotland it 

 •• is very common, and in many districts resident throughout the year. On the coasts of Ayrshire 

 and Wigtownshire its favourite haunts are sandy fields covered with tall, coarse weeds and 

 bramble-bushes." It is rare in both Orkney and Shetland, and does not breed there ; but 

 Dr. Dewar includes it in his list of the birds he found nesting in the Hebrides. In Western 

 and Southern England it is common; and Mr. Cecil Smith informs me that in Somersetshire "it 

 is resident, but in the spring of the year its numbers are considerably increased by arrivals from 



