CHAPTER V. 



I HAVE often thought it would be convenient if collectors 

 would give a short summary of the results of their expedi- 

 tions. The only absolutely new bird to Egypt which I can 

 claim to have got was the Lesser White-fronted Goose, 

 bought of M. Filliponi ; for the Norwich Museum contained 

 a specimen of the Desert Buzzard* from Rosetta ; the 

 English Swift was admitted to inhabit Egypt, though it had 

 never been obtained there ; and the Marbled Duck was 

 once got by Canon Tristram, albeit the fact was not made 

 public ; but these three species now appear as Egyptian for 

 the first time on positive information. The confirmation of 

 Captain Shelley's suppositions concerning the first two is of 

 great interest. With regard to the Green-backed Porphyrio 

 and African Cormorant which we got at the P"aioum, though 

 they had escaped the observation of the English, they had 

 been noticed by some of the continental authors ; and here 

 again the corroboration which we are now able to give to 

 the latter was very desirable. 



Several of the birds collected by us differed in a marked 

 manner from British specimens, but while giving the points 

 of difference under their respective heads (see the Stone- 

 chat and Sand Martin), I have felt that it would be too 

 great a riskf to describe any of them as specifically distinct. 



"' Also see the Huddersfield Naturalist, Vol. II., p. 304. 

 •f It would appear that quite seven-tenths of the names which have 

 been bestowed on " new birds " within the last few years, have ah-eady 

 sunk into synonyms, and the advance of science has thereby been im- 

 peded. 



