126 
Letters, Announcements, fyc. 
along the river-banks, and on the islands all the way north 
to Stanavoialachta. Even snch dips and hollows of the tun¬ 
dra as can boast a patch of willow-scrub hold a few pairs. 
We got the first of the migrants of this species at Ust Zylma 
on the 23rd May; and they soon became very plentiful in the 
woods and valleys around Ust Zylma. 
Often were we puzzled by the mimicry of this fine songster. 
On one occasion, after listening for some time to the well- 
known musical cry of the Terek Sandpiper, tirr-r-r-whui , 
blended with the songs*of scores of other birds on approach¬ 
ing we saw our little friend perched high in a willow-bush, 
with throat distended, bill rapidly vibrating, and uttering the 
tirr-r-r-whui with perfect distinctness. We have heard the 
Blue-throated Warbler also imitate, amongst other bird-voices, 
the trilling first notes of the Wood-Sandpiper, or the full rich 
song of the Bedwing. Sometimes he runs these together in 
such a way as to form a perfect medley of bird-music, defy¬ 
ing one who is not watching to say whether or not the whole 
bird-population of that part of the forest are equally en¬ 
gaged in the concert at the same time. 
[To be continued.] 
XIII.— Letters, Announcements, fyc. 
The following letters, addressed “To the Editor of f The 
Ibis/ ” have been received :— 
Sir, — I notice that Mr. Gurney, in his notes on Mr. 
Sharpe's Catalogue of the Accipitres, remarks on the omis¬ 
sion of Circus ceruginosus and C. melanoleucus from the Ceylon 
list. I fancy that Mr. Sharpe includes Ceylon under the 
head of “ India ” in the habitat he gives for eastern Baptors, 
as there are a number of similar omissions, such as Falco 
communis, F. peregrinator, F. chicquera, F. severus, Cerchneis 
tinnunculus, C. amurensis, Nisaetus fasciatus, Lophotriorchis 
kieneri, Polioaetus ichthyaetus, Buteo desertorum, Neophron 
ginginianus, which are all visitors or stragglers to this island. 
With regard to C. ceruginosus, I may say that it is our most 
abundant Harrier, arriving at the end of October, and fre- 
