THE BIRDS OF MESOPOTAMIA. 
9o3 
clutches are not to be expected till towards the end of the month. Aldworth 
found a nest of two eggs on MaylSth in the ruins ofAl-a-jib in the Samarra district, 
and Thornhill a clutch of eight on May 24th in the same district. Tomlinson has 
recorded the finding of nests at Bund-i-kir. Here the banks of the Karun are 
steep and rocky and about 40 feet high; from a likely looking hole about 10 or 12 
feet from the ground a See See was flushed from the nest about two feet down 
the hole, the nest contained 1 1 fresh eggs on I\Iay 28th . Another nest on the 
same day was also in a hole about two and a half feet deep, like a small jackal’s 
hole, in a sloping bank of a gully and contained 13 eggs. Mr. Jourdain infor ms 
me that the average of 23 Mesopotamian eggs is 36 X 25’8 mm. 
Pitman noted that See See hide up in the day time and come out on to the 
plateau, scrub and camp areas to feed and drink morning and evening. The 
squeaky eall note is rather like that of the Amrnomanes. 
Eight skins examined : (J $ , Mendali, 3-8-18 (P. A. B.) ; Maidan-i-Naptun, 
29-5-17. Shush, $, 3-5-17 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.) ; $, Adhaim, 1-10-17, 
11-11-17 (two) ; $, Samarra, 7-2-18 (C. R. P.) 
There are also in the British Museum a pah from Bund-i-kir, a pair fromBushire 
and a male from “Mesopotamia.” 
Comparing this series with a series of typical griseigularis Mi-. Kinnear and I 
have come to the conclusion that Zarudny’s race is just recognizable (several 
sportsmen thought that the bhds they got were different to the Indian ones). 
The Mesopotamian birds are, in the males, more sandy on the back and more 
vinous on the head ; the more rusty coloration of the spots on the neck does not 
hold good ; the females are distinctly paler and more marked in difference than 
the males. Wings : c? ?, 121-140 mm. Young in down are desiderata. 
Zarudny gives the typical race also as resident jn small numbers in the Karun 
district, where his ter-meuhni is common ! 
328. Chukar. Alectoris grseca. 
Alectoris graeca weroe (Zar. and Loud.) (Orn. Jahr. 15, p. 225 — S. 
Lauristan and Arabistan). 
There is little to record about the Chukar in our area, it certainly occurs in 
places in the Jebel Hamrin range as at Khanikin and Kizil Robat and probably 
elsewhere, while Brooking has recorded that a pair were seen in April near Hit on 
the Euphrates. There are two specimens in the British Museum labelled “ Bagh- 
dad” obtained by Loftus, probably from the Jebel Hamrin, and Logan Home 
thought he saw it at Fatah Gorge.* It is common round Mosul. No specimens 
were brought home. ‘ I have examined these two Mesopotamian birds and five 
others from S. W. Persia and I think that werce must be considered a distinct pale 
race. Wings : d ? 155-179 mm. 
, 329. Black Partridge, Francolinus vulgaris. 
Francolinus vulgaris arabistanicus (Zar. and Harms.) (Ornith. Monats, 
April 1913 — Arabistan). 
The Francolin or Black Partridge is common in suitable places throughout 
our area ; it is of course resident, inhabiting any thick scrub, especially tamarisk 
and liquorice, thick grass and cultivation of all sorts, a most favourite place being 
scrub along irrigation canals. Very good Black Partridge country is to be found 
between Kut and Sheik Saad and also up the Karun river. It is common in the 
scrub of the Tekrit flats, but at Samarra it is rare owing to unsuitable conditions. 
The breeding season is May and June ; Pitman at Feluja found three nests of 
five, seven and eight eggs respectively between the 6th and 8th of May and 
* Since writing the above, Stoneham assures me that he knew of several obtained 
by sportsmen at Fatah, and I have heard of others being obtained in the more 
southern parts of this range. 
