322 
Birds oj the Jlrrliini f)/ si rid. 
December 24. — Marched out to Olu, Ntoi)ping on ihc way at the jhcel where 
we had shoi on tlic iSlh instant; tliorc ua^ a very marked dif- 
ference in ilie number of clucks about, as they hid evidently de- 
parted I'll miisii.' after our shoot for some other locality. Fan- 
tail-Snipe were however pkntlful. Of Wader. I saw sii or s'^ven 
Curlew, rather more Black-winged Stilts, and a few Redshanks, 
Marsh Sandpipers, and Sii:Us. 1 1 eron . w> r^ pi nt f 1 I'wo or three 
Cormorants {Plialaci ocoi ax carbo). one White Stork, seme Black- 
necked Storks {Kcnorhyiiclttis asiii/iciis), and Sarus, Common, 
and Demoiselle Cranes were noted. Blue-throats were common 
in the patches of rushes. 
On the open country we were treated by a wild Merlin 
(yEsalon rcgulus) to a pretty fliglit at a Lark, ending in a 
kill, but the Little Falcon lost the fruits of its labours, 
for as it started to plume the qu.irry under a bush, it was 
surpiiscd l)y an I'.aglc (probably Ai/,:il(i vindhiaiKi) wh ) dropped 
out of the sky. and as far as one cojld see, scoured the Lark 
and bolted it. 
Some 20 Short-eared Owls flushed from a patch of dry 
grass. Three or four Hiiiiiulo iiisiica and a Kestrel and a 
Cream-coloured Courser seen 
25th December. — Marched from Otu to Iranian, hawking on the way for 
Honbara Bustard, of which we found a good number in some 
very sandy fields of growing grass. These birds had apparently 
mostly arrived only recently, as on two or three occisiims the 
place had been searched in hope of Bustard, and only a very 
small number lound. 
Several flocks of Imperial Sandgrousc {IHcrocle^ tircntiria) and 
Common Sandgrousc {Pteroclurus exustiis) met witli. 
A few individuals of Stoliezka's Bush-Chat (Pn/liitcol'i macror- 
hynchu) were noted — this is ,the only neiglibourhood where I 
have ever met w.ih the species. 
Some Short-eared Owls, and a few Kestrels and Sociable 
Lapwings seen : also several odd birds and a fliglit of H riindo 
nisiica . 
December 26.— .\l kanian ; more Stoliezka's Bush-Chat seen. 
A Black or Cinereous \'ulture [Viiliiir nionucliiis) A'as found 
sitting in a field near a village. 
Short-locd Larks {CalandrcUa . .■;/'•?) are now coinmon in 
flocks. 
One or two Kestrels and Sociable Lapwings and several 
Loig-Iegged Buzz^'rds {hutco ferox) met with — the country here 
is in character eminently suited to all tliree species, being 
sandy, open and rather barren in character, with more bushes 
than trees. Tracks of a Great Indian Bustard {tMpodlis edwardsi) 
met with. I picked up an Eagle's casting, which contained 
Honbara feathers. 
{To he concluded). 
