26 
Mr. C. G. Danford on the 
roundish hole about eight feet in circumference^ which 
went down into the solid rock. The stones all round were 
covered with droppings^ seeds, beetles^ wings, &c. On rolling 
down a stone a clamour of innumerable Choughs arose. Down 
below it seemed a perfect pandemonium with their cries and 
wing-flappings; none, however, ventured to come up. That 
night our pursuits took us further into the hills ; but on re¬ 
turning to the same spot next day a better light showed that 
the sides of the hole at some distance below its mouth were 
artiflcially cut into steps j but, having no rope at hand, it was 
impossible to explore this curious place. Large stones were 
again thrown, the sounds of which, dying away in the dis¬ 
tance, showed the hole to be of enormous depth. On this 
occasion the Choughs were absent, which makes it doubtful 
whether they use the place for breeding, or whether they go 
down into its depths for water. The steps point to the latter 
conclusion, although plenty of melted snow-water lay all about 
in the hollows of the rocks. The existence of this cavern, 
which was situated on the top of the mountain, at an eleva¬ 
tion of about 7000 feet, was quite unknown to any of the 
natives. 
152. Pyrrhocorax graculus (L.). Jeedk. 
Abundant everywhere in mountainous districts of the south, 
where it is by far the commonest of the Corvidae. Except in 
their being a little larger, specimens from Asia Minor corre¬ 
spond exactly with those from Western Europe. 
153. CoRvus coRAX, L. Kamas Karga, 
Generally distributed and common. 
154. CoRvus coRNix, L. Kel Karga (Dirty Crow). 
Common everywhere, especially in cultivated districts. 
155. CoRVUS FRUGILEGUS, L. 
Flocks were seen on the plains near Tarsus, but nowhere 
else. 
156. CoRVUS MONEDULA, L. 
First met with at lazli-tash keui, four days^ journey north 
from Kaisariyeh. Here they were breeding, and occurred at 
many places on the route to the Black Sea. 
