Hab. in reg io n e Inclieá e t in snb -rcg io n e In d o -S in o n si.
A d u lt male. Gen e ra l colour above glossy brown, r a th e r p a le r towa rds th e rn n ip and u p p e r ta il-c o v c rts ;
wings a little d a rk e r b rown th a n th e back, w ith edgings o f s lig h tly p a le r hrown, as well as on th e
in n e r se co n d a rie s; b a s ta rd -w in g , p rim a ry -co v e rts , and quills d a rk b row n ; ta il-fe a th e rs dai'k
b ro w n ; lores, f e a th e rs ro u n d th e eye, a u d c a r-co v c rts h r o w n ; tliro a t and b re a s t a shy brown ;
lowe r b re a s t, abdomen, a u d u n d e r ta il-cove rts w h ite ; flauks slig h tly washed w ith b row n ; th ig h s
b row u ; axillaries a n d u n d e r wing-cove rts hrown lik e th e b re a s t b u t a l ittle d a rk e r ; quills dusky
below, r a th e r brow n e r a loug th e in n e r webs : “ b ill b la c k ; gape pale fleshy ; iris d a rk b rown ; fe e t
d u sk y b row n ish , claws d u s k y ” {Scully). To ta l len g th 3 '9 inches, culmen 0 ‘2 ñ , wiug ta il I'G,
ta r s u s 0--Í.
A d u lt fem a le . L ik e th e male iu plumage. T o ta l leu g th -1 iuche s, culmen 0 ‘25, w ing 3 ‘3 , ta il 1'55,
ta rsu s 0-35.
Young. J lu e h lig h te r b rown th a n th e a d u lts , a n d shaded with sandy rufous, all th e fe a th e rs b roadly edged
w ith th e l a tte r colour, pro d u c in g a n e a r ly u n ifo rm ru fo u s appe a ranc e ou th e lower ba ck au d
r u m i ) ; u n d e rn e a th , th e p o rtio u s o f th e th ro a t a n d b re a s t which a re brown in th e ad u lt a rc pale
san d y rufous.
Hab. S o u th e rn C h in a a n d F o rm o sa , Co ch in C h in a and th e B u rm e se c o u n trie s to N o r th e rn Tena sse rim,
N o r th e rn In d ia from Assam to S ind, a n d so u th to th e C en tra l Pro v in c e s and th e S o u th e rn
Bombay P re sidency.
T in s p re tty little Sand-AIartin is widely spread over In d ia , b u t becomes ra re r towards
tlie south of th e Peninsula, an d is en tirely unrecorded from many districts.
Air. H um e says th a t i t is ab u n d an t on all tb e g rea t P u n jab rivers and on th e In d u s,
an d his collection contains specimens from th e b an k s of the la tte r and th e Chcnab lliv e r,
obtained d u rin g his expedition to Sind in th e m o n th of December, a t Alooltan, Sukkur,
and Kusmore. Air. Alurray says th a t it is a p e rm an en t resident in Sind, and breeds a t
B u g g a to ra an d upwards, towards, and beyond Sehwan, in holes iu the river-banks about
J a n u a ry . Air. H um e state s th a t be lias tak e n eggs in Alay on tb e Jh e lum , an d Air.
Seropo Doig fo u n d it n e stin g in th e E a s te rn Narva in February. Colonel Bu tler, whose
specimens from Deesa, procured in J a n u a ry , a rc in the H um e collection, considers it to
be a perm anent resident th ro u g h o u t Sind, Cutch, K á th iaw ár, a n d G u ja ra t, ivhere, lie says,
i t is common, b u t is, as a ru le, confined to th e banks of rivers. I n a later-published note
Colonel B u tle r gives th e date of arrival as th e 25th of J u n e in 1876, and th e date of
dep artu re as th e 20tb of April. H e th in k s th a t a few birds m ay rem a in all th e year
round, b u t th e m ajority disappear in h o t weather. H e believes th a t it breeds on Alount
Aboo. Air. H um e adds a note th a t th o u g h it occurs in suitable localities iu Sind, Cutcli,
Ká th iaw ár, and Jo d h p u r, i t is comparatively rare in th e th re e la tte r. Dr. L eith Adams
found th e species ab u n d an t on th e Chitnouraree Lake in Ladak, and d u rin g tlie cold
mo n th s on lakes and pools among th e salt-ranges of tbo Pu n jab . Mr. 11. AI. Adam
records i t as very common ne ar Sambhiir, and has tak en th e n e st on th e 15th of April.
Colonel G. F . L. Alarshall has found th e present species breeding near Saharaiipur in
April} and Air. Hum e states th a t he has taken eggs on th e Jum n a in the Etawah district
in F eb ru ary and April. Tbe Hum e collection also contains specimens procured near
Delhi in October and D ecember. The late Captain Beavan observed it iu some abundance
on th e 1st of April, 1866, when on th e march from Umbala to Kalka, and ivithin some
ten or twelve miles of th e la tte r place.
I n th e Kiiniaon Bhabur, Dr. K in g procured sjiecimens in J a n u a ry and Alaveli.
Air. R. AI. Adam found it breeding in Oudh on the 23rd of April. Air. George Reid
says th a t in tlie Lucknow Division i t is ab u n d an t along tbe banks of all th e rivers, and
frequents I ly d e r A li’s canal in vast numbers, breeding from February to Alay.
Dr. Scully found th e species “ fairly common in th e valley of Nopal, and it i-csides
th ere th ro u g h o u t th e y e a r ; iu win ter it is very noticeable, as th e Swallows and Swifts
are th en absent. I t was met with in fair n umbers in winter in th e Nawakot cli.strict
an d Alarkhu A’’alley. Tiie b ird is usually found over wet fields and marshy ground, aud
along the course of streams. I t has its holes and breeds in th e banks of rivers and in
th e sides of th e alluvial cliffs so commou in th e valley of Nepal.” Specimens collected
by him in Feb ru ary and Alay are iu the llum e collection, which also contains an
imm atu re bird procured by Air. Alandclli iu Native Sikhim iu Alay, and bo th old and
young birds obtained by th e same n a tu ra lis t iu th e Bhofiin Dooars.
I n his ‘ List of th e Birds of Alanipur, Assam, Sylhct, an d Cacbar,’ Air. llum e
w rite s :—“ Occasionally seen ab o u t th e larg er streams in th e AVestern and near the
Southern Hills. Common th ro u g h o u t th e basin, especially about th e capital and the
Logtak L a k e ; only very rarely m et with in th e E astern Hills. I found th is speeies
occasionally in moderate-sized communities all aloug tho rivers in Sylliet and Cuchar.
From the Valley of Assam I do not find it recorded, and 1 have us yet received no specimens
thence, b u t i t almost certain ly occurs th ere .”
Air. Davison procured a specimen a t Scraigung on th e B rahm ap u tra River in
December. Air. Cripps states th a t it is decidedly common in th e Dib ru g iirh district,
along th e larg e r rivers, where th e banks are iirccqiitous. D u rin g th e rains they
migrate.
Colonel Godwin-Aiisten, in his second list of th e liirds of th e Khasia Hills, records
it as breeding in Ja n u a ry a t Shirshaiig, in the banks of tb e Lumessary River. Some
mistake has occurred in th e dimensions of the specimens, as pointed o u t by Air. llum e,
th e len g th b eing given as 1 2 3- inches, aud the wing as 8^ inches.
The In d ian Sand-AIartin is found near Calcutta, and Air. Blyth has found it breeding
iu the banks of the H u g li d u rin g th e cold season. B uchanau Hamilton states (hat the
species is migratory near Calcutta, coming in October and leaving iu Alareb ; b u t Jerdon
states th a t he has seen them frequently in Alay, and d u rin g th e ruins also, b u t they were
more scattered a t th e time. The same observer states th a t tlie species is rare in the
south of India, where th ere a rc few rivers with high alluvial banks, b u t is found in every
large river from th e Godavcry northwards, and swarming 011 th e Ganges.
Near Furidpur, in Eastern Bengal, Air. J . R. Cripps states th a t it is very common
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