66 Mr. E. C. Taylor— %//;;/ RevisUed. 



103. CoRvus coRNix, L. Hooded Crow. 



Very abundant wherever there are trees, and consequenlly 

 not at Suez, where there are none. Breeds in February and 

 March. When I was trying to stalk a Buteo ferox, or any 

 other large raptorial bird, these Crows seemed to take a pleasure 

 in attacking and driving it away just before I got within shot. 

 Indeed they persecute and bully all the large birds in the 

 country, except Corvus umbrinus, of which they are afraid. I 

 never saw the Black Crow {Corvus corone) in Egypt. 



104. Corvus umbrinus, Hedenborg. Brown-necked Raven. 

 This species is intermediate in size between C. cor ax and 



C. corone; but the feathers of the throat are lanceolate, and it is 

 in all respects a true Haven. It is tolerably common throughout 

 Egypt, and is one of the few birds I found at that desolate spot 

 Suez. We did not happen to shoot a Raven on my first visit, and 

 I was then unacquainted with C. umbrinus ; so that in my former 

 list (Ibis, 1859, p. 49) I included C corax, which I believe is 

 never found in Egypt. Dr. Adams also falls into the same 

 error (Ibis, 1864, p. 22), as subsequently noticed by Mr. Allen 

 (p. 239). This bird makes its nest sometimes in rocks, some- 

 times in the centre of the crown of a Date-Palm [Phcenix dacty- 

 lifera), in which position I found a nest early in March, near 

 Assouan, containing four eggs. I took another nest of this 

 species, with five eggs, from one of the pyramids of Ghizeh in 

 April. The eggs are larger than those of C. coi-nix, and more 

 brightly coloured. I once saw a Hock of at least a dozen of 

 these Ravens near the pyramids of Dashoor. 



105. CoLUMBA scHiMPERi, Bonapartc. Schiraper's Pigeon. 

 Flocks of Pigeons, perfectly wild, frequent the precipitous 



rocks that here and there border the Nile. I have frequently 

 shot examples from them, and have always found them to pos- 

 sess the characteristics of Columha schiiiiperi, being decidedly 

 and conspicuously distinguishable from C. livia by the absence 

 of the white rump which forms so marked a feature in that 

 species. The Pigeons which, in a semidomesticated state, fre- 

 quent the Arab towns and villages, evidently claim descent from 

 C. schimperi, and not from C. livia, as they too are without the 



