126 
SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 
Genus BOTAURUS. 
287. Botaurus stellaris. 
Botaurus stellaris (L.) ; Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. 68 (1873) ; Dresser, Ibis, 1876, p. 325 ; Scully) 
E. iv. p. 196 (1876) ; Blanf. East. Persia, ii. p.297 (1876) ; Prjev. in Rowley’s Orn. Misc. iD- P' 
(1878) ; C. Swinh. Ibis, 1882, p. 123 ; Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. (2) Zool. v. pt. 3, p. 90 (1^8 h 
No. 1176. Kashghar, December 23, 1873. — “Koelbuka.” Bought by Dr. Bellow hi ^ 
bazaar. 
1 • tl 
Dr. Scully’s note is as follows: — “Four specimens of the Bittern were preserve^- 
female at Kashghar in December, a male at Beshkant in February, and two males at Yai v 
in the same month. This species was tolerably common near Kashghar and Yarkand d u _ ® 
the winter, frequenting swampy ground covered with rushes. It was not noticed m s h 
or summer; but Mr. Shaw purchased a young bird of the year about the middle of j 
wliich would seem to prove that this bird does not breed far from Yarkand, at any ra 
kept several of these birds in confinement, and found that their favourite attitude u aS p 0 jy 
the beak directed straight up in the air, the eyes looking very vacant, and the whole 
kept still and unmoved ; when made to walk about the room they would shake out 
neck-feathers and look very fierce. The natives said that one required to be very care ^ 
handling these birds, as they were very fond of making a peck straight at one’s eye ■ a 
hare kept in the same room with a Bittern died one night, and next morning one of h* ^ 
was found very neatly picked out ; my servant looked on this incident as a striking ^ ^ 
firmation of the eye-extracting tendencies of the bird. The Yarkandis call this species 
bughasi,’ the £ Stag of the Lake,’ and say that it is a permanent resident in the C ° U ^ Q a 
breeds in long grass-jungle, and makes a very loud booming noise by sticking its bill vn 
reed 1 ” 
Family CICONIID.E. 
Genus DISSURA. 
288. Dissura episcopus. 
Melanopelargus episcopus (Bodd.) ; Hume & Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 294 (1873) . 
Dissura episcopus, Oates in Hume’s Nests & Eggs Ind. B. iii. p. 268 (1890). 
sever 
al 
Dr. Henderson states that he saw this Stork in the plains of Yarkand on -- ^ 
occasions, especially in the neighbourhood of Yarkand itself. No specimen was P reS 
and none of the other expeditions met with the species. 
