SIX months' bird collecting in EGYPT. 1 65 



of the Warblers. Whether any stop north of Thebes durhig 

 the winter I cannot say. We first met with them on the 

 1st of March at Minieh, and as we progressed further south 

 they seemed to get commoner every day, until at Assouan 

 they literally swarmed. I shot one in which the feathers of 

 the crown were stained by something it had been feeding 

 upon, bright purple.* 



88. Greater Wiiitethroat, Sylvia riifa (Bodd). 



I shot one on the 14th of April near Karnac. It is very 

 much rarer than the Lesser Whitethroat, the above being 

 the only specimen we obtained. 



89. Long-tailed Drymceca, Drymceca gracilis (Rupp). 



I think this minute species is commonest at the Faioum, 

 where I obtained the q^^, but it is not nearly so common 

 on the Nile as the Fantail. I saw some on a little island 

 on lake Menzaleh, which must have made a long flight to 

 get there. It is very comical to see the young birds which 

 have no tails. 



90. Fantail Warbler, Cisticola schccnicola (Bp.). 



Resident and common in every field. When frightened 

 it rises angrily into the air, going straight up with its jerk- 

 ing flight, and uttering a loud note for so small a bird. I 



* The Lesser Whitethroat is decidedly common near London. In 

 the beginning of September I have seen nearly fifty alive in a single 

 shop, all of which had been caught in the vicinity of the metropolis. 

 Further north it is rarer. In Durham, for instance, though some may 

 be met with at Darlington, it is so uncommon at Teesmouth that I 

 never shot but one there. 



