54 The Birds of the Assyrian Monuments and Records. 
Babylonia, Syria, and Persia is varied. The different species 
which have been noticed in these lands will be found in Dr. 
Ainsworth's appendix in Col. Chesney's " Expedition for the 
Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris in the years 
1835-1837," and published in the first volume of that work ; j 
an interesting account also of many of the birds noticed or 
known to exist in these lands will be found in the same 
author's article on " The Natural History and Resources of 
Turkey," published in Colburn's New Monthly Magazine, 1 
No. LIV, June, 1876, pp. CAQ-(y5Q. I beg to express my 
best thanks to Dr. Ainsworth for numerous letters with 
which he has favoured me on certain questions on which 
I desired information ; some notice of the birds observed 
in Assyria, &c, will be found in the published " Travels" of 
various authors, such as those of Loftus, Rich, Layard, and 
others. Much interesting matter on the birds of Palestine 
will be found in the papers by Canon Tristram, published 
in various articles in the "Proceedings of the Zoological 
Society of London," and an excellent review of the Natural 
History of Palestine will be found in the same authors 
"Natural History of the Bible," published by the " Society for 
Promoting Christian Knowledge." For the birds of Persia, 
Mr. W. T. Blanford's work, " Eastern Persia," vol. ii, Zoology 
and Geology, 1876, must especially be consulted, because all 
the animals known to inhabit Mesopotamia are included in 
this beautifully illustrated and valuable work. The territorial 
limits of the region to which Mr. Blanford's work specially 
refers are those of the present kingdom of Persia, but the 
inhabitants of Mesopotamia are also included, "because it is 
scarcely possible that any should be found on the Tigris and 
Euphrates, which do not exist in the Persian portion of the 
plains east of these rivers ; and similarly the wading and 
swimming birds of the Caspian are all comprised in the lists, 
because all of them are believed to be met with at times on 
the Persian Coast." (See Introduction, p. 3.) From this it 
will be seen that in Mr. Blanford's work we meet with a 
great deal of information which closely concerns the subject 
I have brought before you this evening. 
I need now give no more than a general sketch of the 
