from Slavonia and Hungary . 129 



about ten miles due west, where, as he told us, there are fine 

 woods and marshes. On leaving Semlin the road passed over 

 a large barren treeless common, above which hovered several 

 Black Kites and a Raven, possibly attracted by the great 

 numbers of that interesting little animal Spermophllus citel- 

 lus, which abounded here. The cart-way (one cannot call 

 it a road, for there was no attempt at formation) then passed 

 through rich arable land, and Crested Larks became abundant, 

 and a solitary Wheatear was observed. On approaching 

 Dobanovci a row of acacias line each side of the roadway. 

 Here the Lesser Grey Shrike was very common and noisy, 

 and every now and then darted from the topmost twigs 

 on to the stems of last year's maize, which here and there 

 remained in the fallows. We procured some fine speci- 

 mens, their crops being full of Coleoptera. A Hooded 

 Crow had a nest, off which we shot the old bird, taking the 

 five eggs it contained. At Dobanovci we found the village 

 in holiday, it being the feast-day of the patron saint of the 

 church ; and were invited to join the inhabitants at their 

 roasted pig and sheep, which were being cooked in primitive 

 fashion in the churchyard, where, too, the festive board was 

 spread. This we did, while the whole village looked on the 

 first Englishmen they had ever seen. White Storks were 

 very numerous, and nests occupied the tops of many of the 

 chimneys. The natives have no regard whatever for this 

 bird, and we might have had the eggs from any of the nests ; 

 but they, unfortunately, all contained young. Beyond the 

 village was a long narrow and serpentine marsh, with beds of 

 reeds and rushes, which could not be reached without a boat, 

 owing to the depth of the water. On our approach numbers 

 of Squacco Herons, Night-Herons, Little Egrets, Common 

 Herons, and a few Purple Herons rose, and we bagged some 

 fine specimens. Mallards, White- eyed Ducks, Great Crested 

 Grebes, and Great Reed-Warblers were common, and we 

 observed a single Little Bittern. We next visited a large 

 oak-forest a few miles to the west, where Black Ki'tes were 

 very abundant, and soon found a nest, off which we shot 

 the old female and obtained specimens of the young in down 



