842 
TOT ANUS GLOTTIS. 
It is an abundant species in India. Jerdon remarks that it is to be seen in all parts of the country; and, 
as a matter of fact, we find that, in addition to being diffused all round the coasts in suitable localities, recent 
observations prove that it occurs in all districts in the interior which have been examined. It is common in 
the Deccan and throughout the region between the Godaveri and the Ganges. About Calcutta, Messrs. Blyth 
and Hume state that it is abundant ; and in Furreedpore, “ it is very common along rivers and creeks.” It has 
been obtained at Umballa, and in parts of the north-west it musters in great force. Mr. Hume styles it extra- 
ordinarily abundant in the Punjab (50 being sometimes seen in a flock) and very common in Sindh : in the 
Guzerat district it remains until the end of May, and is sparingly distributed throughout it ; it is likewise 
found in Kutch and Kattiawar, but in many localities is said to be “ far from common/’ It was procured in 
Sikkim in spring by Capt. Bulger. Mr. Hume met with it on the island of Cardamum in the Laccadives, but 
elsewhere in that group found it absent. In Upper Pegu it is reported to be occasionally met with ; but in the 
Irrawaddy Delta it is very abundant. In the Province of Tenasserim, Mr. Hume says it is common every- 
where inland and on the coast ; he does not record it from the Andamans, which is a noteworthy fact, 
considering that it is abundant on the mainland ; but it has been procured in the Nicobars according to 
Herr von Pelzeln. I do not find any note of its occurrence in Sumatra; but in Java it has been obtained 
by Kuhl and Yon Hasselt. It is probably found sparingly all round Borneo, as it has been recorded from 
the south of the island from Pontiniak and Tabanio. In Celebes it has been recently observed by Herr 
Meyer, who found it there in June and July ; and previously it was procured there by Forster and S. 
Muller, which latter naturalist also obtained it in Timor. In New Guinea it will probably be found, although 
I find no data of its occurrence in the works of reference to which I have access ; but in Australia it is distri- 
buted round the entire coast, and lias been found in the Richmond and Clarence-river district ( Ramsay ) . 
Gould remarks, as regards its general distribution in this region, that it is nowhere abundant, but that it is 
generally dispersed over the shores of the continent and Tasmania. Turning north again, we find that in 
the Philippines it has been obtained in Luzon, and, by Cuming, in another locality which has not been 
specified. In Hainan Swinhoe found it very abundant at the Hoehow Marsh in March; and on the 
mainland of China it is generally distributed in winter. In Formosa the same writer met with it in April. 
As regards the Japanese islands it is said to be common in Tezo. It is found on the coast of the Sea of 
Okhotsk, and is common, according to Middendorff, in the breeding-season in the Stanowoi mountains, 
inhabiting the morasses on their slopes. It probably breeds in other parts of Northern Siberia, but it has been 
overlooked by recent travellers in that region. In Turkestan it was procured by Dr. Scully in October at 
Kashgar, and' in August on the Karakash river. The Yarkandis say that it is found there near “ running 
water or near pools and swamps ; it disappears entirely in winter, but breeds in Eastern Turkestan in 
summer.” Severtzoff notes that it occurs on passage in Northern and South-eastern Turkestan, and breeds 
on grassy steppes up to 4000 feet elevation. Prjevalskv observes that it is “ an occasional visitor to the 
Iioangho, and a migrant through Gobi about the end of August. We did not,” he says, “ observe it anywhere 
else in Mongolia. It appears in limited numbers at Lake Hanka late in April ; and single individuals are to 
be met with throughout the summer there, as well as on the Ussuri. In August it becomes again more 
abundant.” 
It winters in Palestine, and frequents the coast of Arabia likewise, for Wyatt observed it on the shores of 
the peninsula of Sinai. It is found in winter in Turkey, the Mediterranean islands, and Spain, in which latter 
country Mr. Saunders observed it until the end of May. It occurs in Southern Andalucia on passage from its 
winter quarters in Africa in March, April, and May. It is said to breed in Transylvania, in which province it 
is common during autumn. It also nests in Germany ; but its proper summer quarters are the north of 
Scotland, the Hebrides, Denmark, Scandinavia, Finland, and Northern Russia. Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie 
Brown saw it on the Petcliora at Ust Zylma on the 19th May, and afterwards found it abundant at Habariki. 
Turning now to Africa we find it inhabiting in wiuter the entire north coast from Tangier, where it chiefly 
occurs on passage in autumn and spring, to Egypt, throughout w'hich country and Nubia it is, according to 
Captain Shelley, plentifully distributed, frequenting the banks of the Nile and the marshes of the Delta. 
Von Heuglin states that it is met with on the shores of the Red Sea as far south as the coast of Somauli, and 
along the Nile and its tributaries from August until April. He met with it once in the highlands of Abyssinia, 
and remarks that it is common in East Kordofan. Down the east coast it has been met with at Zanzibar and 
