192 EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



limestones of which they are formed seem to have 

 weathered and perished more than in other parts, 

 and honeycombed masses, and caves large and 

 small, are visible everywhere on its nearly perpen- 

 dicular sides. It is in these caves that birds have 

 found a happy nesting-ground, and the extent of 

 the deposit of guano in them shows that they have 

 inhabited them for centuries. 



The guide-books tell of these high cliffs—" sudden 



gusts of wind from the mountain often render great 



precaution necessary in sailing beneath them " ; and 



on the last occasion of passing there was evidence 



of this, as a regular gale came on us just as we were 



passing and drove us along at a great pace. This 



wildness is similar to the wild windiness of the 



sea-coast, and the Cormorants may in this fact find 



some attraction to this inland home. But I should 



think it is far more likely still, that the founders 



of that colony were birds that had been reared 



in some of the other breeding-places that exist in 



the great Salt Lakes of Lower Egypt, and that 



by some chance taking to the river, which at 



Menzaleh would not be more than a mile or two 



away, found that the river fish were excellent, 



that life was pleasant, and the cliffs suitable for 



safely nesting in. " Stomach rules the world " is 



