672 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
All are in breeding dress except one ; they are finishing or have finished a body 
moult which seems to be complete below, but only partial on the upper parts 
where many feathers are worn and, as no new ones are coming through, these 
perhaps will be retained for the summer. The odd bird is in winter dress still. 
281. Dotterel. Eudromias morinellus. 
Eudromias morinellus (L.). (Syst. Nat. 71758, p. 150 — Sweden). 
A common but local winter visitor. Pitman noted it as common on the un- 
dulating wastes covered with grass near Samarra during the winter, where it 
occurred in vast flocks. It is reported as plentiful at Feluja and common in the 
Karun district. Elsewhere it occurs according to our records sparsely and in 
quite small numbers. Last record April 7th. 
Seven skins examined : Arab village, 3-12-16 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.); Feluja, 
11-4-17 Samarra, 20-1-18 (C. R. P.) ; Amara, 16-12-17 (P. A. B.) ; Feluja, 
1-11-17 (Ludlow); ^ Khamisiyeh, 24-11-16 (Aldworth) ; Ramadie, 
16-11-18 (Brooking). 
^82. Sociable Lapwing. Chettusia gregaria. 
Chettusia gregaria (Pall). (Reise. Russ Reichs I, 1771, p. 456 — S. E. 
Russia). 
This species is a winter visitor and like the two previous Plovers it is very 
local, but where it occurs at all, good numbers may be met with. Logan Home 
recorded it in large flocks on the Tekrit uplands from October to February and 
Pitman met with it plentifully in huge flocks on the cultivated plain between 
Kut and Azizieh at the end of February. Cheesman found flocks on the desert 
near Tel-al-lahm 20 miles from the nver. It is recorded from Basra, Ezra’s Tomb, 
Urfa district and Ras-el-Ain. The latest record was on April 4th. Like the two 
previous species this bird prefers cultivated land and grassy uplands to marshes. 
Three specimens examined: $. Ezra’s Tomb , 3-12-18 ; Tel-al-lahm, 
28-12-18 (two) (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.) 
283. White-tailed Lapwing. Chettusia leucura. “ Tatwa.” 
Chettusia leucura (Licht.). (Eversm’s Reise v. Oremb. nach Buchara, 
p. 137, 1823, between Kuwan and Jan-Darja). 
Very common resident, breeding round the inundations, temporary and perma- 
nent marshes ; in winter spreading further afield and some may even migrate. 
Unlike the last three Plovers this is a true denizen of the marshes and is never 
found far from water. The breeding season begins about the second week in 
May and full clutches are universal early in June. In the Euphrates marshes 
round Museyib and Hindia Barrage, Pitman came across great numbers of this 
species nesting in the first week of June. The nests were on the edge of the 
marsh or on semi-submerged islets, indeed many nests had been flooded out. 
So numerous were they there that he several times examined 50 to 100 nests in 
an hour, and a tiny islet might hold three or four nests. He describes the nest 
as being much like that of the Peewit ; the eggs four in number, vary a good deal 
in size and markings and are smaller and more clay-coloured than those of the 
Red- wattled Lapwing. Logan Home, who found a colony at Abu Aran on June 
8th, says the nests were on the edges of islands in a marsh and usually 5 to 10 
yards from the waters edge. These islands were sandy with small hillocks and 
patches of short grass here and there on them and were closed in by high reeds 
all round. The nests were of the usual Plover shape with a few bits of shell 
under the eggs. 
He says that, unlike the Pratincoles and Little Terns which were nesting 
there, these birds were very wary and would not go on to their nests while he was 
on the island. Like the Peewit they are very noisy at the nesting ground. 
