Birds of the Jlicliun District. 
Ill 
ill sdiu.- (Uses Ihc cuiiro body ol' a spccii's has gone, c.fj., Thi' lUossoin- 
h a .(■ I I'arrakcrt ; wliiTcas in (iIIhts Ih" iu;ijori(\' iil' ;i -^p"!'! have 
duj>a,rU'(l, leaving comparatively i'ew individtials fo follow in March, as 
for instance in ihc case of Sandgroiisc and Rooks. These deficiencies have 
been made good by the arrival of what may be considered " accidental 
winter visitors" — birds that have come down from the Himalayas to 
escape the haril winter conditions, rather than deliberately migrating. 
Some of Ihec wc c nuinc:o:r:, c-fj-, H ijj siin ti s psarO'diS. and probably 
arrive cverj' year : others such as Merida boulhoul and Orr.'cola fcrr^a 
would probably not be found here in a mild winter. 
Then there has been the arrival of ceriain species such as 
V i at 'tiu-oV' c'lpruta and (ilanola la lea which are here summer visitors 
only ; also the commencement of the arrival of certain species which 
arc immensely common in summer, and found very sparingly in winter. 
This catcgorj- incdudes several well-known species such as Sarroijrainmus 
ilid'cHx, J)'c linis at /', Corac/a.s iiuV'ei. and Cypselus affinls; and suidi 
birds will not obtain their full numbers until well into March. 
J?csides these a proportion of species have arrived thai may be 
considered as the advance guard of the spi ing passage : such as the 
Striated Swallows, Emberiza. leucoccphala, and certain Wagtails ; and 
v\iih some birds (c.;/.. the Sparrow Hawks) it is hard to ilistinguish 
vvhcthci they have arrived on spring passage or roprcsont a minoiity li'it 
behind as winter visitors after the passing of the autumn migration. 
The regular winter visitors, such as Pants alricip.s, Pcricro-oltis 
hn rirusti is, Ceiiliia liiiiialu/ana, Molacil'a alha. M. pcrsmiata, Van'cUits 
crislatus, various Buntings and Chats, etc., etc., have remained con- 
stant during the month ; though a few such as Mcrnla atrigularis liave 
decreased in numbers of individuals. 
Feb. 1. — Visited a small jheid near Ihc river, about 5 miles from 
headquarters, where there were a number of \\'ild Duck 
{A)ias boschas) and some Euddy Sheldrakes {Canarca 
rutlla) ■ A small flock of Geese probably consisted of the 
Orey-Lag {Anscr fcrus). Green Sandpiper (Totanus och- 
iopun) were common about the pools, and on a neighbouring 
plough four Black Ibis (hiocotin ])aprlo.ins) were feeling. 
In the distance I saw two large black Storks with white 
necks and black headg — these can only have been the White - 
necked Stork (Dissnra cpiscopiis) which is rare in the 
Punjab . 
On the road lo the jheel, a j.air of Lugger Falcons 
(Faico jiif/ycr) and a jiair of King Vultures (Ofogijps 
calinis) were noted— the latter were probably responsible 
for a large half -built nest io a thorn -trece by the road- 
side . 
A number of Swallows (Hirirnda rusticn) were flying 
round a wayside pond and settling on the sand near by — 
these were the first of the species noted here since October, 
