SIX months' bird collecting in EGYPT. 22/ 



193. GxVRGANEY, QucrqncdiUa circia (Linn.) ; 

 "Arraeh." 



Was first met with on the loth of April, and not far from 

 El-Kab, the same place mentioned by Captain Shelle}'. 

 Between then and the end of the month several were shot 

 in the plashes of water which are left by the receding Nile. 

 They were evidently on migration. The males appeared 

 to be going off in plumage. 



The young Garganey is just the colour of a young Teal. 

 It differs from it in having no speculum, and the neck and 

 bill are both rather larger. Yarrell gives 16 inches as the 

 length of the Garganey, and 145 for the Teal, but persons 

 not versed in ornithology would be sure to confound the 

 young birds. 



194. Teal, Qitcrqucdula cncca (Lmn.) ; " Charchir." 



I cannot understand how this can be called the most 

 abundant Duck in Egypt — vide " Shelley's Birds of Egypt," 

 p. 286. We found it particularly scarce, only shooting 

 three couple all the time we w^ere in the country ; yet I do 

 not mean to say that my predecessor has been guilty of a 

 mistatement respecting it. The explanation probably is 

 that the Oruis of Egypt is peculiar, and birds which are 

 common one season are scarce another. When observers 

 are multiplied in that advancing country, and we can take 

 the mean of many observations, we shall arrive at the truth. 



195. ^lOY^OYi, Mareca penclope (IJmvi); " Sarvai." 



We saw the Wigeon in the markets at Alexandria and 

 Cairo, but I should have reckoned it one of the rarer Ducks, 

 had we not seen so many on lake Menzaleh. When we 



