188 EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



Queen Hatshepsut's temple stands, I worked hard 

 at trying to sketch them till my eyes got blinded 

 by staring up into the blue, and aching with trying 

 to follow some individual bird sweeping right above 

 my head. None but those who have tried it knows 

 what an exhausting thing this is ; every bird is 

 changing its place continually, one after another 

 comes sweeping by, turning, rising, falling, inter- 

 lacing, till one has to absolutely cease looking and 

 close one's weary eyes. I heard later the rumour 

 that this great flock rested the night on the top of 

 one of the hills a mile farther back, and at dawn 

 were all away south. 



Where, however, they can be still seen through- 

 out the winter months and comparatively close at 

 hand is on Lake Menzaleh. I saw them there in 

 March, but by the 12th of April I could not see a 

 single bird. The wonderful colour, a pale coral 

 pink, that they show under the bright Egyptian sky, 

 is something of a surprise to those who have only 

 seen faded stuffed specimens in a museum, or the 

 woebegone individuals in a menagerie. No one 

 interested in birds should neglect the Cairo Zoo- 

 logical Gardens at Giza ; there you will see all sorts 

 of hot climate beasts and birds in the perfection of 

 condition that they never show in our colder climes. 



