also in Sardinia. On account of its special mode of nesting, th e Sand-AIartin is always
very localized.”
I n I ta ly it is a summer visitor, as also in Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily. In
Sicily i t has been said by Benoit to w in te r n e a r Catania, b u t n eith er Count Salvadori
nor Dr. Giglioli credit tb is sta temen t, an d Prof. Doderlein denies it a lto g e th e r; though
th e la tte r believes th a t some individuals winter in tb e island of P an tellaria , which
sta temen t Dr. Giglioli considers to require confirmation. I n I ta ly i t breeds twice a year.
I n Corsica Air. C. Bygrave AVbarton found tb e species fairly numerous a fte r the end of
Alarch ; an d Air. Jo h n AVliitebcad writes as follows “ I n 1883 first seen on tho l l t b
of April, in 1884 on tbe 8tb o f A pril. Never seen in numbers. Though tb e river-banks,
in places, were suitable, I never saw any sign o f a nest, or of a bird a fte r tbo passage
was over.” Air. Basil Brooke says th a t in Sardinia it arrives early in Alarch and is
common. Air. C. AI rig lit states th a t in Alalta i t is common in spring and au tum n .
I n Greece, according to Aliiblo and Lindermayer, it is a summer resident, and tb e la tter
says th a t colonies of tb e Sand-AIartin breed in tb e banks of th e Alpbeus and E urotas,
m ig ratin g south very early iu th e a u tum n , before Chelidon urbica. Lord Lilford says
th a t it was uncommon in Ep iru s. Dr. K rü p e r informed Air. Dresser th a t he bad found
tb e Sand-AIartin breeding iu Alacedouia in tb e banks of a brook below Alount Olympus.
Professor Bru sin a states th a t be has n o t y e t fouud th e Sand-AIartin in th e in te rio r of
Croatia, b u t h e has received a specimen from P o rt Alamula iu tb e Bay of Cattaro, shot ou
the 28th of Ju n e , l i e has examples also from Alontenegro. Air. Otto Heiser has met
with tb e species ne ar Sarajevo.
In Asia Alinor, Air. Danford observes, it was n o t seen in th e mountains, b u t was
found by him abundantly near Ivaisariyeh. Lord Lilford w r ite s:— “ I do n o t find a
specimen of this bird from Cyprus iu my collections, b u t have a note of it as observed
b oth by Guillemard and myself, and it is included in Unger and Kotschy’s list. I t
was certain ly n o t common in an y p a rt of Cyprus visited by me iu April and Alay.”
Canon Tristram, in bis ‘ P a u n a and F lo ra of Palestine,’ writes as follows :—“ Docs
not re tu rn to tbe Holy Land till tho end of Alarch, and th en in small colonics, th ere
being very few localities suited to its h ab its.” Von Nordraann says th a t iu Southern
Eussia tb e Sand-AIartin is widely d istributed an d breeds in v ast numbers in the
Steppes of Bessarabia. According to Air. lle n k c , it is a very common summer visitor
to A s tra k a n ; and in th e Caucasus, Dr. lla d d e informs us, i t inhabits th e lowlands,
b reeding u p to 0300 feet, and arriv in g about th e 6 th of Alarch. Dr. Finscb states th a t
it was th e most common bird a t Sanmrova on th e I rtis h river ; and Air. Seebobm, in his
paper on tb e Birds of Siberia, writes as follows :—“ A rrived on th e Arctic Circle on tbe
9 th Ju n e . Both on th e Ob and tb e Yen-c-say, large colonies of these birds were
frequent. I did n o t see any fu rth e r n o rth th an lat. 67°.”
According to Dr. SevertzoiF, th e Sand-AIartin seldom visits th e n orth-eastern portions
of Turkestan, and was n o t often seen by liim in th e south-eastern districts, but elsewhere it
was common an d bred. Tbe la te Air. llussow found it breeding a t Tschiiias. Dr. Stoliczka
obtained a specimen a t P an ja, in E a s te rn T urkestan, ou the 17 th of April, 1874.
Dr. AV. T. Blanford gives th e following note :—“ Bank-Alartins a re rare in Southern
Persia, and tb e only specimen obtained was one shot by Alajor St. Jo h n on bis road from
Tehran to Busbire. Dc Filippi, however, found th em abundant a t Aliana in Northern
Persia, between Tabriz and Kazvin.”
Air. AV^. D. Cumming has m et with th e species a t Fao in tbe Persian Gulf, and says
th a t excepting in December and Ja n u a ry tb e species has been seen during tbe whole
course of the year. Colonel Swinhoe notes its arrival a t Candahar a t tb e latter p a rt of
Alarch, b u t n o t in large numbers. Sir Oliver St. Jo h n states th a t it is rare in Kelat.
I n In d ia it appears to be a very rare winter visitant. Jerdon observes :—“ I have found
th e Sand-AIartin somewhat rare in India. I got specimens a t J a u ln a and saw i t occasionally
a t Albow and Saugor, and also in two or th ree localities on th e Ganges, b u t
v ery few, generally one or two together, in company with tbe Common Swallow, and
always near water.”
The Hume Collection contains a specimen from Sindh, procured on th e 14tb of
January, 1877; and Dr. Blanford writes :—“ I have obtained th re e specimens in Sindh,
two shot by myself on tb e Alancbbar Lake, tb e th ird near B o b ri.”
I n Gujerat Colonel Bu tle r speaks of i t as only a rare v isitan t in the cold weather.
I n Cachar Air. Inglis states th a t it is extremely common, and b e shot a specimen a t
Dilkusba as late as th e 15th of April. Mr. Hume, in his lis t of tho birds of Manipur,
writes :—“ I first met w ith tb is species a t th e Logtak Lake, where, on th e 19th of Alarch,
I noticed a huge mixed flock of this and Cotile sinensis hawking over a meadow, and
shot a few of each to make sure. Again, on tb e evening of th e 8tb of Alay, a large
flock of tb e present species only appeared on th e Alacbi ridge M'bere I was encamped,
and hawked about u n til dusk, flying extremely fas t and high, so th a t I procured a
couple with great difficulty. This Alacbi ridge is about 5300 feet hig h where the
Alartins w ere most abundant, and except for a small pond (which th ey did n o t in any way
affect or notice) th ere was no water for miles. Ouce more I saw a few more h awking a t
eventide, late in May, about tbe h u g e broad mo at which surrounds tbe Baja’s Palace a t
Manipur Town. AA’^bile, therefore, i t is scarcely rare, it is, on tb e other hand, by no
means one of tb e common birds you meet with every day. I have tbis species from
N.E. Cacbar, from Sadiya, and from Dollab, which is n e a r th e last-named place. I t
occurs, b u t probably as a seasonal visitant only, in many p a rts of Pegu and tbe plains
portions of Teuasserim, n o rth of Aloulmein.” Air. Oates writes “ A somewhat rare
winter visitor to Pegu and Tenasserim, and it probably also occurs in AiTakan. I
observed i t in the Pegu river on several occasions.”
Alessrs. Hume and Davison, in th eir list of tb e birds of Tenasserim, observe:—
“ Confined apparently as a seasonal visitant to tb e tra c ts between tlie Salween and
Sittang rivers. I t was common late in J a n u a ry and early in F ebruary over the whole
of the level country lying in tb e Tbatonc sub-district; b u t Air. Davison lias n o t as yet
seen it elsewhere in Tenasserim. A few of th is species were also obseiwed close to tho
town of Aloulmein a t tbe la tte r end of Alay.”
Dr. Taczanowski, in his work on tb e birds of the E astern Palaearctic Region, sum-
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