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Home , New Siberian Islands, Transcaucasia

SPECIAL REVIEW By D. D. HARBER THE BIRDS OF THE . Under the general editorship of G. P. DEMENTIEV and N. A. GLADKOV. (State publishers "Soviet Science", Moscow, 1951-54). 6 vols. (In Russian). CONTESTS OF VOLUME 3 (195I *, 680 pages)* THE volume starts with the Charadriiformes which are dealt with by N. A. Gladkov. The typical race of the Stone Curlew (Bur- hinus a'dicnemus) is replaced by the race as tutus to the east of the southern Urals, the birds between the rivers and Emba being transitional in character. But the typical race ^appears again in an area to the south east of the Caspian. The status of this form in the European part of the Soviet Union is given mainly on the basis of rather old authorities, some going as far back as 1897. It would seem that there is little recent information. The bird is stated to be generally rare except between the Volga and the Ural where it is numerous. On the other hand astutus is generally common and often abundant. Both forms, it is stated, need water for drinking and are usually found near it. The eggs of the race bogolubovi of the Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius cursor) have never been described and nothing is known of its nidification. The Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) is found in the European part of the Soviet Union only in , in an area to the east of the northern and in . It is not numerous in any of these parts, but in it is very common in places, e.g. the delta of the Amu-Daria. The nesting of the Black-winged Pratincole (G. nordmanni) in (Armenia) is possible but is not yet fully established. It is common in suitable localities in its normal breeding area. The Grey Plover (Charadrius squatarola) is not given as breed­ ing on Novaya Zemlya as stated in The Handbook. In the Euro­ pean part of its area (eastwards from Kanin) it is relatively not very numerous, but on Yamal, in the delta of the and on it is "in the highest degree common." On pas­ sage it keeps to the coast and only small numbers arfe seen in the interior. Its incubation period is stated to be unknown. The Golden Plovers (Ch. apricarius) breeding in the former Baltic States belong to the typical form. This may also be the case with the birds from the Leningrad and Novgorod districts, but authen­ tic specimens of birds nesting there are not available. The northern form altifrons nests on Kolguev and Vaigach but not on Novaya Zemlya. In the Urals it probably nests as far south as the southern Sosva and Lake Knyaspinskoie. It appears * Discussions of the contents of volumes 1 and 2 appeared in previous issues on pages 221-224 a"d 268-276.

313 314 BRITISH BIRDS [VOL. XLVIII irregularly on migration in the interior, being observed in large numbers in some years and not at all in others. This bird nests in the wetter parts of the while the Grey Plover avoids these and selects the drier areas. Mention must be made of the serious errors in the map purporting to show the distribution of the American and Asiatic Golden Plovers (Ch. d. dominicus and Ch. d. fulvus). Not only is dominicus given as occupying the territory of fulvus and vice versa, but even when allowance is made for this one finds dominicus given as nesting in the Anadyr district of eastern though the text only gives this as possible. The distribution of the Dotterel (Ch. mofinellus) is given as: Kola , possibly Kolguev and Vaigach; has been stated to nest on Novaya Zemlya but does not do so according to S. Uspenski; Urals as far south as Yaman-tau; Taimyr; lower and between the Lena and the ; apparently few in the Anadyr district; in places from north Baikal to Altai. It is abundant in Altai and common enough in the tundra. The race tundrae of the Ringed Plover (Ch. hiaticula) is rejected. It is stated that possibly there is a very gradual increase in the length of wing from west to east, but that "in general it appears that the individual variability of this feature in Ringed Plover completely covers the differences of the 'geographical races' which were separated on the basis of the study of a small number of individuals". It is further pointed out that the wing- length can change from year to year in the same bird. But the writer seems to be unaware that tundrae is stated by The Hand­ book to have, on the whole, not larger but smaller measurements, including wing-length, than those of the typical race. Nor is any difference in colour between the two races mentioned in the present work. The map gives the Semi-palmated Ringed Plover (Ch. h. semipalmatus) as definitely breeding in extreme north-, but the text only gives it as "apparently nesting" there (without any details). The Little Ringed Plover (Ch. dubius curonicus) does not sit uninterruptedly: "the birds lightly cover the eggs, in southern localities they leave them uncovered, and the development of the embryo takes place to a considerable extent without the participation of the parents." The most westerly breeding locality of the Caspian Plover (Ch. asiaticus) is the Stavropol steppe where c. 30 pairs were found in 1950 by E. P. Spangenberg. Nesting has been established in the area between the Aral and Caspian (Dementiev found it on the Ust Yurt in 1950) and down the eastern shore of the latter. "Outside the confines of our country Dzungaria has been stated to be a nesting place but unfortunately we do not know the source of this information". A race veredus is given as nesting in Mon­ golia, parts of northern China and . Ringing has shown that Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) from the European part of the VOL. XLVOI] BIRDS OF SOVIET UNION—3 315

Soviet Union and from winter in western , apparently between Holland and Italy. Only a few winter in the Soviet Union, in the of the southern Caspian. The Sociable Plover (Chettusia gregaria) does not, according to the results of recent investigations, nest in the Ukraine. A Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus spinosus) was obtained by Nordmann at Odessa in May 1897. This is the only record for the Soviet Union. The Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris testacea) nests only on the Taimyr Peninsula (from the mouth of the Yenesei), the and between the mouth of the Kolyma and Chaun Bay. This is a more limited area than that given in The Hand­ book. Observations on the spring passage of this species are stated to be "extremely meagre and inexact". Its incubation period is still unknown. The Southern race of the Dunlin (C. alpina schinzii) nests in the Pskov district. The races centralis and sakhalina are given, but in the systematic observations it is stated that the whole question of the races of the Dunlin is not yet satisfactorily cleared up and that "it is not excluded that future investigations will confirm the correctness of the statement of Tugarmov that the Dunlin forms only two sub-species: the nominate, C. a. alpina, and the East Siberian/American, C. a. sakhalina". The White-rumped Sandpiper (C. fuscicollis) has been once recorded in the Soviet Union, on on 28th June 1897. If the Little Stint (C. minuta) nests further east than the New Siberian Islands it does so "only in places and in very small numbers". Breeding in the Kirghiz Steppes and else­ where to the south of its range is not confirmed. It is almost the most numerous wader breeding on Kanin, but it is very rare in the Timan tundra, where it is completely lost amongst the mass of nesting Temminck's Stints, and on the lower Pechora. It is very numerous on Taimyr and the Gyda Peninsula. Temminck's Stint (C. temminckii) has been found to have full clutches of fresh eggs between 9th and 20th June on the west Murman coast and the author has found such layings on the Timan tundra from 9th June. Baird's Sandpiper (C. bairdii) breeds in the Soviet Union on the eastern part of the Chukotsk Peninsula and on Bolshoi Diomid and Kolytichin Islands. It is stated that autumn migra­ tion from the U.S.S.R. is to the east. The Pectoral Sandpiper (C. melanotos) is known to nest east­ wards from the eastern Taimyr and may likewise breed in the western Taimyr. It is very numerous in places, being one of the most abundant of the waders nesting at the Kolyma delta. Autumn migration is stated to be towards the east and apart from the breeding area the species has (apparently) been recorded in the Soviet Union only from Wrangel Island, the Commander Islands and (on one occasion) from near Yakutsk. The breeding area of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (C. acuminata) remains vir- 316 BRITISH BIRDS [VOL. XLVIII tually unknown though it apparently nests in the tundra between the Kolyma and the Indigirka. Its nest and eggs likewise remain unknown. The Knot (C. canutus) has a breeding area in the Soviet Union that is limited to the northern parts of the Taimyr Peninsula to the east of Cape Chelyuskin, the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island. The birds of the latter island are attributed to the race rogersi, but this is regarded as a "dubius form described on the basis of specimens obtained while on migration". This race does not nest on the New Siberian Islands as has been stated. Though this species is numerous at its nesting sites its general numbers are not large owing to its limited range. It is rarely met with on passage anywhere in the interior. The breeding area of the Great Knot (C. tenuirostris) has been discovered only quite recently and is apparently not yet fully known. Nearly all that is known about the nesting of this bird comes from L. A. Por- tenko. He gives its presumed area as contained by a line from Yakutsk to Verhoyansk, from there to the extreme eastern extrem­ ity of the Chukotsk Peninsula and then to the mouth of the River Uda on the shore of the of Okhotsk. A description is given of the eggs of this bird. The Purple Sandpiper (C. maritima) breeds on the and along the shores of the . It does not do so between Vaigach and the Taimyr Penin­ sula and it is the only wader which regularly winters, in any numbers in the Soviet Union. The Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryn- gites subruficollis) does not, so far as is known, nest in north­ east Siberia, despite the statement of Nelson that he found it common there on ist July, 1881. It has occurred on the Kuriles and on 25th September 1947 one was obtained near the mouth of the Shmitovka on the Gulf of . The southern limits of the range of the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) are not clear and it is doubtful if it breeds in the Kirghiz Steppes. There are isolated colonies on the Upper Yenesei near Minusinsk and in the Altai steppes. Thirteen Ruffs ringed on spring passage in Italy have been recovered in the Soviet Union, mainly in summer and autumn. One ringed on the Caspian was recovered in France. The territory of the (Crocethia alba) is insufficiently known. Besides the localities given in The Handbook it nests on and at the Lena delta. It is not numerous in the Soviet Union and is scarce and irregular on migration in the interior. The breeding territory of the Broad- billed Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus) is surprisingly little known. "Apparently this secretive bird belongs to the zone of the northern taiga and the southern tundra but to outline its area of distribu­ tion is in essence impossible". It perhaps nests on the Kola Penin­ sula (the map gives this as definite) but there is no recent confir­ mation. Otherwise there is no direct evidence of nesting east of , "but we must suppose it sufficiently widely distri- VOL. XLVIII] BIRDS OF SOVIET UNION—3 317 buted on the basis of the more or less general (but very rare) encounters with this bird while on migration from the western shores of Europe to the eastern shores of Asia". It is supposed that east of the Yenesei the race sibirica breeds but as the nest of this form has never been found this must be regarded as some­ what indefinite. The Snipe-billed Godwit (Limnodromus semipaltnatus), which is the Asiatic equivalent of the Dowitcher, breeds in small colonies in the Baraba and Kulunda steppes, in Transbaikalia, Mongolia and . It seems that these colonies change their sites annually. Most of the information about the nesting of this bird comes from Vclizhanin (1926). It may be more common than appears since it is said to be easily confused with the Bar-tailed Godwit. In fact the author is of the opinion that these two species can hardly be separated in the field. The race scolapaceus of the Dowitcher (Limtiodromus griseus) breeds on the Chukotsk Penin­ sula and in the Anadyr district. The southern breeding limit of the Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) has not yet been fully determined, but it is apparently a good deal further to the north than was formerly believed. Old records of its breeding as far south as Kazan are discounted. It has not been found breeding on the Chukotsk Peninsula or on Kamchatka. The races eurhinus and terrignotae of the Redshank (T. totanus) are not accepted and while the author gives partic­ ulars of the distribution of the races robusta and britannica he states that he only does so on the basis of the claims of western ornithologists which he is not in a position to check. It is doubt­ ful if the Marsh Sandpiper (T. stagnatilis) now breeds in Bess­ arabia, and Podolia. In Asia its southern breeding limit is apparently a good deal further to the north than was formerly believed. It does not breed in the Altai and on the upper Yenesei, but there is a separate breeding area in the (Transbaikalia and Manchuria) the limits of which are not yet known. Over much of its area it is rare but it is abundant in eastern Kazakhstan. Armstrong's Sandpiper (T. guttifer) has relatively recently been proved to nest on south Sakhalin but no other breeding localities have yet been established. Judging from the following "field description" it is a bird which could easily be overlooked: "In the field reminds one of the Greenshank but is even shyer." The nesting of the Green Sandpiper (T. ochropus) in the area between the Caspian and Lake Balkash is doubtful. This bird is particu­ larly numerous on the Pechora and in Eastern Siberia. The breed­ ing area of the Wood Sandpiper (T. glareola) does not extend so far south as is stated in The Handbook. Apparently it does not nest either in the Ukraine or in the northern Caucasus but it probably does so in Transcaucasia (the map gives this as definite). Nor does it nest in the Kirghiz Steppes. The map of the distribution of the two races of the Grey-rumped 318 BRITISH BIRDS [VOL. XLVIII

Sandpiper (Heteroscelus incanus) reverses the actual state of affairs, giving brevipes for the area of the typical form and vice versa. The nest and eggs of brevipes have yet to be found. It is a rather rare bird and on migration is only found in parties of three to five. The typical race nests on the southern slopes of the Anadyr Mountains (Portenko, 1939) and may do so on Kamchatka and elsewhere. The Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinerea) is extending its range westwards though as yet, it is stated, it does not breed outside the Soviet Union. It is very numerous in places in the taiga. Its incubation period is given as "apparently 21 days". The follow­ ing is in direct contradiction to what is stated in The Handbook: "Probably only the female incubates, but the male keeps near the nest all the time and is usually first to fly up when it is approached while the female feigns injury. The female has one incubation- patch". The Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) perhaps nests in very small numbers on Kolguev and Vaigach. In northern Asia it is very numerous, e.g. in south eastern Taimyr it is the most abundant of all the waders. On migration it is "exceptionally rare" in the interior of the Soviet Union. The Red-necked Phal­ arope (Ph. lobatus) does not nest on Sakhalin and there has been no confirmation of Zarudny's claim that it breeds in the Kirghiz Steppes. This bird is commonly met with on migration, some­ times in large numbers. The distribution of the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), particularly in the European part of the Soviet Union, is imperf­ ectly known. There is no confirmation of old records of nesting in Transcaucasia. It is scarce in European but numerous in western Siberia and Kazakhstan. The eastern race, melanur- oides, appears to be nowhere very numerous. The nesting of the Bar-tailed Godwit (L. lapponica) in the southern Urals needs con­ firmation. The race menzbieri (north-east Siberia) is accepted by the author. The American race, novae-zelandiae, is stated to nest at the extreme eastern tip of Siberia though the map shows the previous race for this area. East of the Yenesei the distribution of the race orientalis of the Curlew (Numenius arquata) is unclear owing to to confusion with the Far Eastern species, N. madagascariensis. The Slender-billed Curlew (N. tenuirostris) is a rare bird and "the separate observa­ tions on it are so dispersed territorially and are so fragmentary that it Is not possible to form anything like a complete picture of its distribution or to give even the briefest account of its biology". The area of the Whimbrel (N. phceopus) has not yet been clearly defined. The birds breeding between the Volga and the Ural are referred to the race alboaxillaris, but the breeding area of this form also is not really known. The Little Whimbrel (N. minutus) is regarded as a race of the Eskimo Curlew (N. borealis). It has VOL. XLVIH] BIRDS OF SOVIET UNION—3 319 been found breeding on the water-shed between the Khatanga and the Moniero and on the Verkhoyansk Mountains. It may nest north of and on the Stanovoi Mountains. The breed­ ing area of the Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus), particularly its southern and eastern limits, is imperfectly known. In concluding the review of this part of volume 3 it may be of interest to note that several American waders appear not to have been recorded in the Soviet Union, even on a single occasion, though it might perhaps be expected that they would sometimes occur there. Thus no mention is made''of any records of the Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) or of the Lesser Yellow- legs (T. flavipes). (To be continued)