Page:Ibis Series 10 Volume 5 1917.djvu/46

4 Mr. P. J. C. McGregor on [Ibis, cloud and, mingling with a certain proportion of Tlooks, proceeds to execute elaborate and noisy niancguvres over the plain till just before nightfall, when all return gleefully to their quarters.

Nest-building was begun in 1910 about the middle of March, and. when during the first week in April the snow began to disappear from the fields, they were to be seen foraging in company with Lapwings, Rooks, and Starlings. A return of winter, however, interfered with their nesting-arrangements, and it was the 30th of April before either Hooks or Jackdaws had eggs. Daring May and June they find abundant nourishment in the fields and vegetable-gardens near the town; but later on they seem to extend their daily journey to the swamps of the Kara Su, and in my camp it was a rare occurrence to observe a Jackdaw, My impression is that they do not frequent the villages, but during a visit to Hassan Kala'a, about fifteen miles east of Erzerum, I found tlicm in numljers sharing the rums of the Citadel with Swallows, Wheatears, and Starlings.

Pica pica. Magpie.

Magpies may be met with throughout the year, but they are not abundant and do not collect in flights as in the Balkan countries. Only on one occasion—and that w'as on March 28, 1911—did I see a flock; it was composed of about twenty individuals, and on that day isolated specimens were noticeably numerous. In the depth of winter they are constantly to be seen in the town and are aa enlivening feature in the roof landscape.

Sturnus purpurascens. Starling.

Immense numbers breed in the town of Erzerum and at Hassan Kala'a, where the roughly built stone-houses and the extensive fortifications afford abundance of nesting accommodation. The Starlings first appear in large flocks about the 15th of March, and from that date onwards every patch of soil laid bare by the increasing warmth of the sun is crowded with these birds in company with Lapwings, Rooks, Jackdaws, Pipits, and Rock- Doves, the