Mr. E. C. Taylor— %///>/ Revisited. 49 



lanarius and several species of Saxicolce. I also made an excur- 

 sion to Suez^ and stayed there three or four days. Suez, where 

 there are no trees, or bushes, but desert only, is decidedly the 

 most non-aviferous place I ever was in : even the Hooded Crow 

 {Corvus cornice), which swarms all over the I'est of Egypt, was 

 conspicuous by his absence ; and I saw no Sparrows, nor, indeed, 

 any small passerine bird, except the AVhite Wagtail {Motacilla 

 alba). However, the Raven of Egypt [Corvus umbrinus) , not- 

 withstanding the absence of trees, was not uncommon, and I 

 ishot a fine specimen. From Suez I returned to Cairo, and 

 remained there till January 29th, 1864, when, in company with 

 two other gentlemen, who were going up the Nile to collect 

 birds, 1 took a boat, and started on the voyage up the river to 

 the First Cataract at Assouan. The voyage thither lasted a month, 

 and the return about the same time, so that I was in all two months 

 on the Nile. I returned to Cairo at the end of March, and 

 after staying there a few days went by railway to iMansoura, in 

 the Delta, where I took a small boat, and went down the East- 

 ern branch of the Nile to Damietta, where I remained some 

 days collecting birds. Thence I returned to Alexandria, and 

 departed for Smyrna on the 13th of April, having spent four 

 months in Egypt. 



The following is a list of the birds shot by myself, or members 

 of my party, or otherwise fully identified by myself during my 

 two visits to Egypt. The remarks refer to my observations on 

 my second visit, except where the contrary is stated. My expe- 

 rience of Egypt extends only from the middle of November to the 

 middle of April, and I never ascended the Nile beyond the First 

 Cataract. Had I remained in the country a month later, I have 

 no doubt but I should have added considerably to my list; for 

 of course many species of birds go to Egypt to breed which are 

 not found there in the winter, or even as early as the middle of 

 April. I found the Picidce and Parida totally unrepresented in 

 the country. My experience does not agree with that of Dr. 

 Adams (Ibis, 1864, pp. 3, 4) that the Date-Palm {Phoenix dacty- 

 lifera) "is by no means a fitting resort for birds," and that you 

 may wander for hours among groves of those trees, "and, except 

 near the villages, not meet with a bird of any description ;" for 



N. S. VOL. III. E 



