34 IBIS, 92

THE BIRDS OF LHASA. By F. IXDLOW.

Keccivcd on 7 February 1940.

IN-rHoDucronY.

I was sent to ‘Tibet in the spring of 1942 to assume charge of thc British Ilission in Lhasa. 1 held this appointment for a year and during this period I spent my leisure hours collecting plants and observing bird life in the immediate vicinity of the city. Shooting in Ihasa is forbidden and so it WJS quite impossible to make a collcction.

Early in the prescnt century a few specimens were brought back from the Holy City when Sir Francis Younghusband led his famous mission to ‘I’ibct in 1903-4. He had on his staff as medical officer and naturalist Captain H. J. Walton of the Indian Medical Service, and the principal medical officer to the military escort was Lt.-Colonel L. A. Waddell. Both these officers were interested in birds and collected thcm when opportunity offcred. IVaIton, when in Lhasa, was occupicd with his medical duties, had little time for collecting and was only able to obtain 47 skins. Waddell was morc taken up with his Buddhist studies than ornithology and the only notes he published were a few in an appendix to his fascinating book ‘ L h s a and its mysteries ’. His collection of birds was unfortucately lost with the rest of his baggage on the return journey to India. But beforr he Icft Lhasa he sent three birds, which he had been unable to identify i n the ‘ Manual o f Palaearctic birds’, to Dresxr in London, who described them as new in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for January 1905. As I will show later, only one of these, Rabax wuddelli, was really new.

\Vaddell did not knolv his hirds really well and I shall haw occasion later on in this paper to point out sevcral errors which I-:e committed. Walton, on the other hand, was a most accurate obscrvcr and published an admirable papcr in ‘ Ibis ’ 1906:57-84, 2255256. His collection he presented to thc British Museum. Exccpt for Waddell and IValton, nobody has ever hecn in a position to collcct birds in Lhasa, and so their specimens havr hccn inva!uable in thc compilatio!i of this paper. I am also very much indebted to l lajor C;. Sherriff and 11r. 11. E. Richardson, who interested themselves in thc avifauna of Lhasa bvviiilst they wcre in charge of the Mission during the xvar years, and who have gcnerously plrccd their notes at my disposnl.

The nomenclature followed in this paper is that of Stuart Baker’s ‘ Fauna of British India ’ (1922-30).

LHASA AND ITS EISVIRONS.

‘l’he city of Lhasa lies in the centre of the Kyi Chu valley, which hereabouts is 4-5 miles wide. Two hills, the Potala and Chogpori, each about 300 feet in

1950 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF LH.4S.4 35

height, rise from the plain and screen the city from view to all who approach it from the west, along the road from India. These two hills are connected by a low ridge pierced by a gateway called the Pargo Kaling, and it is not until this gateway is entered that the city of Lhasa comes into sight. Then, with dramatic suddenness, the entire southern face of the stupendous palace of the Dalai Lama, which crowns the Potala hill on the left, flashes upon the eye, whilst a thousand yards further on are the white-washed houses of Lhasa itself. At the western foot of the Chogpori lies Dekyilingka, the abode of the British-now Indian-Mission, whilst nearby is Norbu-Lingka, the Jewel Park, the summer residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lhasa is full of “ lingkas ” or parks, where poplar, willow, and buckthorn trees, irrigated by a network of canals from the Kyi Chu, grow to perfection. One of these canals flows through the grounds of Dekyilingka, and in winter duck and geese feed quite unconcernedly within easy gunshot of the house. Cormorants, gulls, terns, .goosanders and waders are all to be found on the banks of the Kyi Chu, which is only a few hundred yards distant. In the extensive Mission grounds, magpies, kites, doves, tits, sparrows, wrynecks, and hoopoes nested in the poplars and willows, whilst Waddell’s Babax and Prince Henri d’orleans’ Laughing Thrush lurked in the buckthorn thickets.

Marshes are extensive on the Lhasa plain, the largest several square miles in area, stretching westwards from the Lhalu mansion to the foothills near the great monastcry of Drepung. A clear little lake called the Lhu-khang, with an island in its centre, lies at the northern foot of the Potala, and beyond it marshland extends still further northwards. All these marshy areas hold many waders-duck, geese, coots, moorhens, cranes, egrets, snipe, stints, redshanks, etc., the majority being migrants.

T o the north and south Lhasa is hemmed in by lofty mountain ranges, crossed by passes lS,O00-16,000 feet above sea level. Brown and parched during the dry winter months, these ranges rapidly become green with the advent of the monsoon. Many shrubs, such as rose, barberry, honeysuckle and willow, flourish, and in specially favoured localities, such as Reting, and on the Gokar La, there are forests of juniper. Tibetan Partridge and Snow-cock are to be found on all these mountains, whilst Harman’s Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon harmani abounds at Reting and in the forested area to the south. Other birds found on the ranges include redstarts, accentors, willow warblers, rose finches, twites, horned larks, etc.

TAMENESS OF 3IRDS AND AXIMALS.

One of the most delightful attributes of the birds of Lhasa is their amazing tameness. Even migrants, such as the various species of duck, seem to realize that they are inviolate in the neighbourhood of the Holy City. Brahminy Duck breed regularly in holes in the basement of the Dalai Lama’s palace, and on a winter’s morning I have seen flocks of Bar-headed Geese waddle

D2

36 I:. LUDLON' : THE BIRDS OF LH.IS\ IBE, 92

across the road within a dozen yards of my pony, and barely condescend t a notice me. At Reting Harman's Pheasant struts about in front of t he monastery like a domestic fowl. I have even watched Solitary Snipe feeding so confidently along the banks of Lhasa's waterways that we were able to walk close up and film them at a distance of 10-15 yards. As for birds like horned larks and skylarks, one almost trod on them when out for a ride on the Lhasa plain. Burhel Qvis nahurm gather in winter around the monasteries, where they are fed, and in summer I once came across a Tibetan woman screaming at the top of her voice at a small flock feeding in her barley field and the wild sheep taking less notice of her than her own domestic animals would have done.

-4s with birds, so with wild mammals.

CLIMATE.

Lhasa,with an annual rainfall of 15-18 inches, enjoys a most perfect climatc- Nearly the whole of this precipitation occurs in summer, for the winters are dry and the snowfall almost negligible. Temperatures seldom fall below 0" F. in winter, and hardly ever exceed 80°F. in summer. 'L'hc only unpleasant features of the climate are winds and occasional dust storms which sweep over the valley in late winter and early spring. For the greater part of the year Lhasa is drenched in sunshine.

SYSTEMATIC LIST. CORVUS C . 'L'IBBIASL'S.

Perhaps nowhere else in 'I'ibet is the Haven s o numerous R S i t is in Lhasa, \vhcrr vast heaps of garbage provide abundant food for this prince of scavenKers.

The British Mission in Lhasa is situated at the foot of a hill called Ehogpori, and in spring these birds used to come in from the city and its environs in their hundreds to roost on the warm southern slopes of this hill. A large number of the birds in and. around 1,hasa showed no signs of breeding. and those that did breed seemed to prefrr building in cliff faces rather than in trees. The Raven is the sole reprcscntati\.e of thc genus Conws in Lhasa.

PICA P. UOTTANESSIS. The extensive gardens, parks, and cultibated areas which surround the Hol!

City are, of course, ideally suited to this biid's requirements, and it is therefore not surprising to find this magpie occurring in large numbers on the Ehasa plain. Although Tibetans, like the Chinese, are extremely fond of keeping birds as pets, I never s m b - any attempt on their part to tame this or the preceding species.

PYRRHoCORAX P. HIMALAYANUS.

A very common bird indeed. The Red-billed Chough breeds in Lhasa under Tt is occasionall>- the eaves of houses, and also in rock faces in the surroundinK hills.

caged by Tibetans. I do not remember ever having seen the Yellow-billed Chouph in Lhasn. PSEtiDOPODOCES HL;MII.IS.

Walton does not record this ground chouph from the Lhasa neighbourhood, but it occurs quite commonly near the great monasten of Sera, and also elsewhere at thK base of the hills overlooking the Lhasa plain.

PAIlVS M. TIBETANt!S.

T h e Great Ti t is very common throughout the year.

1950 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF LH.4S.4 37 TROCHALOPTERCM mwrua.

Strangely enough, neither Walton nor Waddell reeoid this laughing thrush from Lhasa, though it is by no means uncommon whercver there are thickets. Waddell, however, obtained a spccimcn in the Tsangpo Valley at Chaksam, and it was this specimen Dresser erroneously described as new under the name Gurrulnx tibetanw (‘Proc. Zool. Soc. London’ 1905 : 54, pl. v. fig. 2), overlookingthe fact that PrinceHenri d’Orleans had obtained specimens in the upper Salween in 1890. For many years Prince Henri’s Laughing Thrush was considered a rare bird, but during our journeys in 1936 and 1938, Major Sherriff and I found it abundant in S.E. Tibet.

BABAX LA!!~E~L~TUS WADDELLI. This is another laughing thrush which occurs in the Lhasa parks, though neither

Walton nor Waddell record it thence. The former stresses the fact that he did not ohservc this bird in Lhasa, though the terrain seemed eminently suitable, and goes on to remark that Tibetans informed him that it did not occur there. How this mistake arose it is dficult to say, as this babax is moderately common at Lhasa, and Tibetans are well aware of the fact, as it is a favourite cagc-bird. Both Walton and Waddell obtained a specimen in thickets on the banks of the Tsangpo at Chaksam fern. and it occurs also at Gyantse and Shigatse. Lower down the Tsangpo, in the provinces of Takpo and Kongbo .in S.E. Tibet, there is a darker bird with a smaller bill, which Kinnear separated as Bubax 1. hmsdeni (Bull. Brit. Om. Club 58 : 76 and 78) but Meinertzhagen considers merely a synonym of B. zuuddelli.

TlCHODROhlA MCKAHIA.

in the neighbouring hills. The Wall-creeper is often seen in summer on the Potala and Chogpori, and

TROGLODYTES T. TIBETAXUS.

Common a t Lhasa in autumn, winter, and spring. but I have so far failed to mcct with this wren in sumrncr. Males seem to be bigger than those of T r o g l o d y ~ i . nipdensis, but females are hardly separable, and there seems to be no difference in colour (‘ Ibis ’ 1944 : 177).

CLVCLVS c. CINCLUS.

The Dipper is seen occasionally on the mountain streams draining into the Walton’s three specimens of C i n c h younghusbandi from Khamba Jong Kyi Chu.

represent the “ sordidus ” mutation. SAXICOLA TORQUATA ISDICA.

Examples of the Indian bush-chat obtained by Walton at Lhasa on 20, 21 September, and by myself at Gyantse, bclong to this race. There is no reason why przewalskii should not pass through Southern Tibet, but no specimens are available, though I have obtained this race in autumn in Western Tibet

MANTHE DESERTI OREOPHILA.

Observed sparingly in summer in barren and sterile tracts. Walton obtained this Tibetan Desert Chat in the Tsangpo valley at Chaksam. It occurs also at Gyantse, whence 1 have taken eggs (‘ Ibis ’ 1928 : 59).

CHAIMARRHORNIS LEUCOCEPHALA. Richardson observed the White-capped Redstart in the Netong valley north of

Lhasa and in the Dote valley, and also near the Chak La between Talung and Lhundup Dzong, and on the hills behind Drepung monasteq.

PHOENXCURCS FRONTALIS. Richardson records the Blue-fronted Redstart from the hills behind Drepung

monastery, and also from the Tro La south of Talung and at Yerpa in May. PHOENICURUS SCHISTICEPS.

. A few White-throated Redstarts passed thrnugh Lhasa in October.

38 F. I.I’L)LOW : 1 H F BIRDS OF LtI.’S.4

PHOLISICCIKS HOUCSOSI.

PHOEKICURCS 0. RUFIVEKTRIS.

Hodgson’s Redstart is common in summer and breed,.

Common in summer. Breeds.

I B I S , 92

PHOENICCRUS ERYrHHOGASTER GRANUIS.

Guldenstadt’s Redstart moves vertica!ly nith thc sca50n3. In winter it s \ ~ a r m s in the Lhasa parks and in the buckthorn thickets along the banks of the Kyi Chu, whilst in summer it is to be found on the hills overlooking the Lhasa plain, where doubtless it hreeds, though I have never discovered its nest. Six skins from Lhasa measure : dd 103, 104, 110; k$ 100, 102, 103. These measurements do not differ from East Tibet and Kansu measurements, and Kleinschmidt’s race maximus cannot be maintained.

CYASOSYI.~ IA SVECICA.

I have never yet seen bluethroats in Southern ‘I’ibct in summcr, though they pass through in the autumn, and according to Richardson in the spring also. Walton obtained specimens at Lhasa and Khamba Jong in September and Octoher, whilst I have obtained this bird betwrcn Gyantse and Phari during the same months.

Exactly \vhat race these hirds belong to, is uncertain, though it seems likely they are Cyunosylrius. przezculskii (Tuparinov). Vide ‘ Ibis ’ 1927 : 592 and ‘ Ibis ’ 1937 : 271.

CYAXOSYLVIA PECTORALIS TSCHERAIE\VI.

There is a record o f this Ruhy-throat from Gyantse (‘ Ibis ’ 1928 : 61). but none It is common in the Tsancrpo from Lhasa, though it doubtless occurs sparingly.

vallry in S.E. Tibet (‘Ibis’ 1944: 186, 1x7).

Keither Walton nor Waddell record this blackhird from Lhasa or Gyantse, though it occurs in both these localitic.s, or at any rate on the hills overlooking these two to\vns. ‘The Nechung oracle, who livcs near the yrcat Drepung monasteq at Lhasa had a charming caged bird, the only one that I have evcr seen in captivity.

TLRDCS AIERC1.A DVDDIIAE.

‘l’1:RDVS ATROGLLARIS.

Richardson obserwd the Black-thrci;itcd Thrush a t Lh:isa in April a r d November on spring and autumn migration.

TURDCS RUFlCOI.l.I?.

Red-throated Thrushes p:iss through Lhasn on autumn and spring migration, and a fen spend thc \\-inter there.

LAISCOPLS COI.LARIS. S o t mentioned by LValtcin or \V;iddell, hut this accenti;r (ccurb sparingly on

the hills overlooking the Lhasa plain. PRUKELLA I<. RUBECVLOIDES.

The Robin Accentor is abundant in all the parks and gardcns around Lhasa in autumn, spring, and winter. In summer it retires to higher eleratioris to breed. Walton does not specifically mention this bird as occurring in Lhasa, probably because he left Lhasa before these hirds had desccndcd from the surrounding hills.

PRCNEI.1.A FV1,VESCESS TIRETASKS.

The Brown Accentor has the same distribution as the preceding species and is equally common.

LANIUS SCHACH SIPALENSIS. The Grey-backed Shrike is a common summer visitor to Lhasa where it breeds.

Walton obtained a spccimcn at Chaksam in the Tsangpo valley which Dresser erroneously described as new under the name 1,unius luniu (‘ Proc. Zool. SOC. Lond.’ 1905 : 55, pl. v, fig. 1 ) .

1950 F. 1.CL)LOW : THE BIRDS OF LH.ISA 39

[ DERICROCOTUS BREVIROSTRIS.

Waddell says he observed this bird at Gyantse, but this must be a mistake. Minivets are not Tibetan plateau birds, and nobody, as far as I am aware, has ever recorded this bird f r m any part of Tibet lying north of the Himalayan range. I once spent three yean at Gyantse and never saw this very distinctive bird.]

PHYLLOSCOPLS AFFINIS.

Tickell's Willow-warbler is a very common bird at Lhasa in summer, breeding plentifully in buckthorn thickets in the parks, and along the banks of the Kyi Chu.

PHYI.LOSCOPUS TROCHILUS PLUMBEITARSUS.

A specimen obtained by Walton at Lhasa on 2 September was recorded by him as Acanthopneuste wiridana (' Ibis ' 1906 : 75). But Ticehurst has shown (' Genus Phyllosropus ' : 150) that this is an error, and that the bird in question is plumbeitarsus.

A very dark willow warbler, which keeps to hedges and bushes, passes through This bird is possiblyfuscatus, but without specimens it is

PHYLLOSCOPUS sp.

Lhasa in the autumn. impossible to be definite on the subject.

LEPTOPOECILE SOPHIAE OBSCURA. The Tibetan Tit-warbler breeds in buckthorn bushes on the Lhasa plain

A nest containing five incubated and also at higher elevations in the surrounding hills. eggs was found just outside the British Mission garden on 25 May.

PASTOR ROSEUS.

Richardson records a single Rosy Pastor at Lhasa in September 1944.

Waddell records this finch from near Phari, but this observation is almost Phari is plateau country with bare hill-slopes and the Scarlet Finch

[HAEMATOSPIZA SIPAHI.

certainly wrong. is not likely to be found away from forest.]

PYRRHOSPIZA PUNICEA.

Occurs on the hills overlooking the Lhasa plain but not at Lhasa itself. Specimens from the Karo La on the Lhasa-Gyantse road are very large.

PROPASSER PCLCHERRIMUS WALTONI. Very common in the Lhasa parks and gardens throughout the year. The

Tibetan race of the Beautiful Hose-finch is a paler bird than the typical race, which occurs on the south side of the Himalayan ranpe.

CARPODACUS ERYTHRINUS ROSEATCS.

Summer visitors ngt common at Lhasa. Specimens of the Indian Rose-finch obtained by Walton at Lhasa werc erroneously described by him as new under the name Carpodarus herissirnus (' Ibis ' 1906 : 227).

CARPODACUS RUBICILLA LUCIFER.

Walton does not record the Great Rose-finch from Lhasa, but it is abundant in all the thorn brakes in autumn and winter, and breeds in the surrounding hills.

Severtzoffs Rose-finch is found sparingly on the hills overlooking the Lhasa CARPODACUS RUBICILLA SE\TRTZOVI.

plain in summer, but I have no record of it in winter. ACANTHIS FLAVIROSTRIS RUFOSTRIATA.

The Tibetan Twite is found in large Rocks at Lhasa in winter, but it is not Walton, so common in summer when most birds ascend to higher elevations to breed.

however, obtained a specimen at Lhasa on 15 August. PASSER MONTANUS TIBETA~YUS.

Abounds throughout the year. The Tree-sparrow does great damage in the barley fields in autumn, but Tibetans are quite unconcerned and take no steps to control its depredations.

1’4SSER R11’1 ILANS.

-4 summer visitor. Brccds. Kinnear considers thr Cinnamon ‘I’rec-sparrcw from southern l’ibct birds to be scltujeri (‘ Ibis ’ 1944 : 358, 359).

i-hl BERIZA CI 4 .

Scarce. The race of the i\leado\v-buntina is prohably klmu~cmis (Sushkin), nhich occurs at Gyantsc and all down the Tsanypo.

DELICHON U A S Y I . ~ ‘ ~ .

Seen in summer. Tsanepo valley birds are [ . ~ ~ . s / ~ f ~ / ~ , r ; r ~ / ~ ; s and 1,hosn hirds arc probably the same.

HIPARI.4 HIPARIA IJIJIAE.

The Eastern Sand-martin is common in summer alone the banks 01 the Kyi Chu.

Hodyson’s Striated S\vallo\v is very common and hrccds plcntifull\. Both thc Richardson records a hird at

HIRI‘SDO D.41:RICA SII’ALESSIS.

birds Walton obtained at Lhasa bclonF: to t h i s race. Lhasa as late as 23 Sovember.

~ R I J l S O C H E I . I D O N H1:PFSTRIS.

The Crag-martin is frequently obscncd round thc t’otala and ChoFpuri in sunimrr and in the surrounding hills.

h10.r.4(.11.1..4 ALB.4 LECCOPSIS.

Passrs throuyh Lhasa in the autunin \\ hence \Valton obtained two spccimcns Ibis ’ ir? Septrmbcr.

1028 : 70). I obtained specimens of the White-faced Wagtail at Gyiintse

3 lOT.4ClI.I.A \ L H 9 AI.UOIDES.

Hodgson’s Pied Wagtail brccds along the hanks of the Kyi Chc. ~\IO[.ACII.LA CITHEOLOlI)F-$.

\JOT.4CIl.I.A CAl.C.4RATA.

Yellow \\aptails are common on the I.hasil nlarshcs in suninit r. \Vz!tc:n nb:aincd specimens of hoth the above spccics.

:\STHCS I I . HOUCSOSI.

Walton obtaincd specimens at 1,hasa in Septemhrr.

RIyth’s Pipit prohably passes through 1,hasa on ;iutumn migrdtion, il>ou.uh I Walton obtained specimens at Kharnba Jong, and I ha\c d m i n e d

. - \STHI-S RICHARD1 COULE\YSKII.

did not observe it. it man? tinics in Southern Tibct in autumn.

~ h ) C O I l Y S AI.PESTRIS EI.M‘ESI.

Walton did no: meet \vith this homed lark ;it I.hasn. prohably hccailsc. thcsc I:irks had not descended from the mountains by thc tirnc hc Icft. I-:l\vcs’ llorncd Lirk i, \cry common indeed at 1,hasa in winter, and breeds on thc surrounding mountains in summrr. ,4 3 taken on 3 January has a wing of 123 mm., which i s very Iargc lor elrccsi.

-41 . .WVA .4. I SOP1 SAI‘A.

‘I‘hc Tibetan Skylark is n rcsidcnt and vcry common in cultivated trx!s.

The Short-toed Lark occurs in summer in ivaste areas, \\ hcrr it t,rccds.

I did not see the Long-billed Calandra Lark at 1,hasa itself but i t i s ciirnrni:n

(:AL.4SDREI.I.A ACUTIHOSTRIS.

~ k L A S O C O H Y P H A MAXIMA.

in marshy tracts along the shores of the Yamdrok Tso. J Y \ X ‘I‘ORQKILLA JAPOSICA.

The WTnrck arrives in Lhasa towaids thc end ot‘ April, and is lairly coninion .4ccording to Walton i t occurs in nmall numhers in Lhnsa early in

Curiously enough 1 have ne\er seen this hird elsewhere in Tibet, though in the parks. September. it should occur in the Tsangpn a l l e y .

1950 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF LHASA 41

c UCLXC.5 C.4NORUS.

I have heard and seen a cuckoo at Lhasa in the spring. Neither Walton nor Waddell record it and the birds had probably departed before the arrival of the Younghusband Mission. Richardson has records of this bird from Lhasa in May and .June and also from Gyantse in June.

AILEM, ATTHIS.

Although the rivers and streams of Lhasa teem with fish, kingfishers are almost unknown.

In February 1943 a single bird belonging to this species took up its abode for a couple of days on a small stream flowing through the Mission garden, and then disappeared. This was the only occasion on which I saw a kingfisher at Lhasa. Spencer Chapman (‘ Lhasa; the Holy City ’ : 257) saw this species at Lhasa in the winter of 1936-37

. and Richardson saw a bird there in March 1939 and also in November 1947. A bird I obtained at Gyantse in January 1924 was hengalensis and not pallasii, and Lhasa birds are probably the same.

ITPUPA EPOPS SATURATA.

Common in summer. MICROKS PACIFICUS.

A white-rumped swift is moderately common in summer, and breeds under the . eaves of houses in the city. Walton also observed this bird but took no specimens. However, Tsangpo valley birds, which are probably the same as Lhasa birds, are

.inrconyx. I saw another species of swift in November 1942, which I took to be Micropus apris.

A few remain throughout the winter.

BUBO BUBO TIBETANUS. This bird was more often heard than seen. Walton obtained a specimen

Richardson of the Tibetan Eagle Owl in Lhasa and considered it not uncommon. informs me he once saw eight homed owls together in a small wood at Gyantse.

A THESE XOCTUA LUDLOIVI.

Seen near Sera Monastery. Birds from Gyantse and elsewherc in Southern ‘I’ilxt are ~udozci , and I presume Lhasa birds are the same.

GYP.4ETLT!3 BARBAIUS.

Quite common. Walton obtained two specimens of the Lammergeyer at Khamba Jong.

GYPS HI~IALAYESSIS. Abundant.

P A ~ D I O X HAI.~A&S.

The Osprey was seen occasionally. FALCO SUBBUTEO.

Recorded by Richardson. Several were seen by Walton at Gyantse in the . spring.

FALCO TISNUSCULUS.

FALCO CHERRUG.

29 Novemhcr 1923.

Moderately common in summer.

Seen in winter. I obtained a specimen of F. c. tnilcipes at Gyantse on

&TUR GESTILIS.

Recorded by Richardson.

Noted in summer. ACCIPITER SISUS.

Walton shot an example of A. n. melmroscbistuc at Gymtse ’ on 28 -4pril.

42 F. LUI)LO\V : TlIE BIRDS OF LkI.4S.4 IBIS, 92.

HAI-IAEETCS L E r c o n Y r I w s .

Not uncommon. Pallas' Fishing [<axle t&s henvy toll of the younF of C'asarca O n one occasion I watched distracted Brahmin!- Ducks fearlessly stooping ferru:Orea.

on a fishing eagle which had seized one of their offspring. H A L 1 ASTUR INDUS.

In AIarch 1945 Sherriff wrote t o me from 1,liasa as follo\vs :-" l'lie othrl day therexas a Brahmin!. Kite in the garden for an hour or two. I can think of no. other bird it could possibly heve been. Rather smaller than Milurs m. limatus with head, neck, and breast white, primaries black, and the rcst of the plumage rusty brown or red brown". What this Brahminy Kite was doing in Lhasa I really cannot imagine,. yet there seems to be no doubt about the correctness of Sherriffs identification.

hf1LVL.S MIGRANS LINEATUS.

Very common in spring and summer. The I.?rge Indian Kitc leaves Lhasa early in October and returns tobvards the end of l:ehru:ir?..

CIRCUS Sp.

Harriers pass through Lhasa in autumn.

Buzzards were scm occasional:!- in summi'r.

Abundant.

Common in summer.

R u x o sp.

COl.L'MB.4 RUPESTRIS TKRKFSSTASIC.4.

STREPTOPELIA ORIESl'Al.IS OHII.:STAI.IS.

Walton obtained a specimen of the Hufous Turtledove at Lhasa which he erroneously described as new under the title Tur iur fhnsar(' Brit. Bull. Om. Club' 12 : 92).

C'ROSSOTTILON CROSSOI'TILOS H A R N A S I .

Harman's Eared Pheasant occurs on the hills to the south of I,hasii, whcrc it \F:IS found by Bailey and subsequently by Rattyc ( ' J . BornSay Xat. Hist. Soc.' 38 :626). I ha\e skins from this locnlit!.. This pheasant also occurs commonly at Reting, 60 milrs or morc north of I.h:isa. 'I'hc rainlall at Retinp must be considerably hiuher than that of Lhasa, for the country is \vell-\vooded and harbours the so-called Sikkim. stag ('rrcrrs nfiinis as \\.ell :IS other game. For an account of the distrihution, habits, nidification of Harman's phrasant. scc' ' Ih i s ' 1944: 377-379.

PClZDlX 11. HOLKSOSIAE.

'Thc l'ihetan partridxL. oc' ors or1 the hills o\-crlcokinr! thc 1,h:i.a plain.

-ilic Snow Cock occurs commonly on the hills surroundinp L.tias:i.

Thc Ahorhen is common on the Lhnsn marshcs.

I have secn parcnt birds n i t t i younp on the marshes hetnwn Sera and Drepung monastcrirs in summer, hut the Black-nccked Crane for the most tar t deserts Lhasa in the hrceedinq season. In \\inter, howcwr , it occurs in huue Hocks in the Kyi Chu

, . 1 E'I'H4(>G.\LLLS ' I . CESTHALIS.

~ ; A I ~ l . I S I ~ I A CIILOROPL'S.

GKI3 SIGHICOI.LlS.

valley. LARCS BHI'SZI ICEI'IIALLS.

Notcd on the Kyi Chu river in autumn and a fe\v rcmain throughout the winter. The Rrown-headed Gull breeds on the upland lakes but not, I think, on the Ihasa marshes.

1 A R U S ICHTHYAETCS.

Soted in autumn and \\inter on the Kyi Chu. I think it highly probable that the Great Black-headed Gull breeds on Tibetan lakes but I a n n o t find any record of its nest having beer. discovered.

1950 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF LHASA 43

STERNA H J R I J N W TIBETANUS.

The Tibetan Tern breeds on the Kyi Chu in summer, but it seems to forsake Lhasa in winter.

PLUVIALIS WMINICUS FULVUS. The Eastern Golden Plover was seen on autumn migration on the Lhasa

marshes. RECURVIROSTRA AVOSLXTA.

IBIDORHYSCHUS STRUTHERSI.

VA~ZLLUS VA~ZLLUS.

TRXNGA OCHROPUS.

TRINGA HYPOLEUCOS.

TRINGA TOTANUS.

Richardson saw a large flock of Avocets on the Rham Tso Lake in April 1948.

The Ibis-bill breeds amongst shingle on the banks of the Kyi Chu.

Lapwings were seen in spring on the Lhasa marshes.

Green Sandpipers were noted throughout the year.

The Common Sandpiper was seen in summer.

Redshanks are common and breed on the Lhasa marshes in summer.

Ruffs pass through on autumn migration.

Stints pass through Lhasa in the autumn.

A solitary Woodcock was seen in one of the 1,hasa parks on 22 May.

Common in autumn and winter.

PHILOMACHUS PUGNAX.

EROLIA sp.

SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA.

CAPELLA SOLITARIA.

I once counted nine Solitary Snipe in the course of an afternoon, feeding on a side stream which flows at the foot of the Chogpori. The birds were so tamc that they were filmed at a distance of 12-15 yards.

CAPELLA STENURA.

The Pintail Snipe passes through on autumn migration.

Common Snipe pass through on autumn migration.

Cormorants are common in the autumn on the Kyi Chu hut not noticed in the

CAPELL.4 CALLINACO.

PHALACROCORAX CAR90 SISENSIS.

depth of winter. IBIS LEUCOCEPHALUS.

A Painted Stork, according to Richardson, appeared in Lhasa in the summer of 1947, where it was killed.

EGRETTA ALBA.

foot of the Potala. A solitary specimen of the Great White Egret was seen in autumn at the northern

Richardson saw these birds at Lhasa in June 1937 and 1939. A!!SEIZ IiiDICUS.

Abundant in autumn, winter, and spring. Most leave the Kyi Chu valley in summer to breed on the upland lakes, but a few remain behind to nest in holes in cliffs on the left bank of the river.

Near the Yu Samba or Turquoise Bridge in L h s a there is a little marshy land, and on my journeys to and from the city, birds often used to waddle across the road in front of my pony just like tame geese. On one occasion I saw children flinging stones at these geese, which never even took wing but just flapped out of reach, complaining loudly.

The Bar-headed Goose is very tame.

44 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF I.H.4SA IBIS, 02

At the British Alission at Dekyilingka geese used to feed in winter quite unconcernedly within a stone's throw of the house. I never saw any other species of goose in Lhasa during my stay there, but Spencer Chapman records the White-fronted Goose (' Lhasa; the Holy City ' : 275), and Richardson saw five specimens of Ansrr UlbifrOt25 at Lhasa in April 1939.

CASARCA PBRRUGISEA.

'rhe Brahminy Duck is just as common and just as tame as the Bar-heded Goox. I t breeds commonly at Lhasa, and ducklings arc often seen in the streams and marshes where the Raven and Pallas' Fishing Eagle are ever on the alert t o snap up the carcless young. In Alay I watched this duck jioinR in and out of the ventilation slits in the Rigantic basement of the Potala. I have no doubt that they nested there, hut how did they manage to transfer their younx to water ? Tibetans aver that the ducklings are pushed out of the nest by one of the parent hirds on to the other parent bird which xvait? outside.

Osmaston (' Ibis ' 1925 : 718) is oi opinioh that the duck1inr.s arc carried down to water by the parents, but he docs not say exactly how this is done. But Col. C. H. Stockley, a veteren sportsman and an accurate observer. is very czplicit (in this subject. In his book entitled ' Shikar ' : 180, 181, he says :-" A very delicate operation in the flying line is sometimes to be seen at the south end of the 'I'sokr Chumr I,ake in Ladakh. Here there are some brokcn rocky cliffs in which the Brahminy Ducks (or Ruddy Sheldrake) breed in large numbers. When thc younK are hatched, the parents (or perhaps the female only) haw to carry the young down to the lake. This they do by tucking them in between the neck and the shoulder, and it is very interestin# to watch an old duck start \vith short wing-strokes and then do a long vcl- plane do\vn to the shore. occasionally cocking hcr head round to see to this safety r ~ f

her youngsters."

But this I cannot believe.

X S A S Pl.A'IYRl1YSClI.4.

Common in winter.

In J a n u a n 1913 a pair of Spot-billed Duck spent several days on a stream \\ hich flows tlirough the British hIission compound. 1 examined these birds carcfully through glasses, and they certainly did not belone to the typical race, as they lacked the rcd spots iit the base of the bill. A s both birds possessed 3 well-marked supcrcilium and a white throat, and lacked the white hand posterior to the speculum \\hich characterizcs the Burma bird (Atlas p. Irarinqtoni), it is almost certain that these Spot-hills \Yere the Eastern bird, Anas p. ,-onorhynrhn. Richardson saw Spot-hills at 1,hasd in March 1946 and also in the winter of 1947.

Richardson ohserved the Wigeor. at Lhaca.

(;adwell \wre noted in wintrr.

l'eal are common in winter.

T h r Pintail is common in wintcr.

Garranus are common in autumn.

Shoveler \verc seen in winter.

On scveral occasions Red-crested Pcxhards w t v wen.

A fcw mallard remain to breed. .\S.¶S I'OECILORHYSCHA.

lJ .¶RECA PENELOPE.

CI-I.¶I'I.EI..¶SXfUS STREPERI'S.

SETTIOS (-. CRECCA.

UAFI 1..4 ACUI'A 4ci-r.4.

U t - E R Q U E l X L A QL'ERQtiEDU1.A.

SP.4TI .I..% CLY PEATA.

NFITA HCFIS.4.

1950 F. LUDLOW : THE BIRDS OF LHASA 45

NYROCA RUFINA RUFINA.

NYROCA FULIGULA FULIGULA.

GLAUCIOV CLANGUU.

MERCUS MERGANSER ORIESTALIS.

Common, breeds.

Tufted Duck are common in winter.

The Golden Eye was observed by Richardson at Lhasa in March and April.

The Goosander is common and breeds.

Seen in the summer on the Lhasa marshes, where it doubtless breeds.

Walton observed little grebes at Lhasa hut did not o b h n any specimens

PODICEPS CRISTATUS CRISTATUS.

PODICEPS sp.

Richardson also obset ved them in summer.