152 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



but though we tried two or three times to shoot them from 

 the Diabeyha, we never got a specimen ; and I am undecided 

 whether to set them all down as the IsabelHne Goatsucker 

 or not. I was inclined at the time to think that some of 

 them were the English one, which is larger. 



■)f43. Common Swift, Cyselns apus, (Linn.). 



As it was a great point to establish this as Egyptian, I 

 kept a sharp look-out among the thousands of pale Swifts, 

 Near Gebel Silsilis, on the 29th of March, I had the great 

 good fortune to see one and obtain it, but it was the only 

 one we ever fell in with. 



44. Pale Egyptian Swift, Cypselus pallidus, Shelley. 



First seen near the Barrage on the 14th of February. On 

 the 26th, I shot one on the top of a mountain at the 

 Massara stone quarries, but it was not until April that we 

 really saw them in great numbers. It seems incredible that 

 a portion of the hundreds of great flocks which were then 

 pressing north should not go beyond Egypt. The mouth 

 of one shot at Esne was crammed with small insects.* 



45. Oriental Swallow, Hirundo savignii (Steph.) ; 



H. riocoiirii Audouin. 



" Hasfur El Genneh," i.e.. The Bird of Paradise. 



Is one of the most abundant native birds in the north of 

 I^gypt. Numbers of them any day may be seen skimming 



*' The White-rumped or Galilean Swift is not an unlikely species to be 

 found in Egypt. It is the Cypsehis affinis of Gray. Mr. Dresser 

 states that it is non-migratory and very local. It has a white rump, 

 and at first sight might be mistaken for a House Martin. 



