38 Capt. G. E. Shelley on Egijptian Ornitholorjy. 



to make certain that there was no mistake as to the name. 

 M. Verreaux remarks, *' I consider this bird to be certainly 

 E. striolata. After comparing your specimens with numerous 

 others from different localities, I do not see my way to make a 

 second species. Doubtless the wings in your specimens appear 

 to be slightly longer, and the coloration of the upper parts is 

 somewhat darker; but you are well aware that allowance must 

 always be made for slight differences which species inhabiting 

 different climates exhibit. Considerable changes, as I have often 

 observed, result from differences of food and temperature." 



t720 bis. Emberiza schcenicola. 



M. Verreaux confirms my identification of this species. 



766 bis. Alauda arvensis. 



A speciuien of a Skylark sent me from near Lahore by Capt. 

 C. H. T. Marshall appeared to me to be precisely identical with 

 the European species. I sent it to M. Verreaux, who remarks, 

 " This, as you rightly conjectured, is Alauda arvensis. I have 

 compared it with more than a hundred European specimens, and 

 cannot discover the slightest difference." 



III. — Contributions to the Ornithology of Egypt. 

 By Captain G. E. Shelley, F.R.G.S., F.G.S., &c. 



I VISITED Egypt upon two occasions, and in all spent about six 

 months in the country, during which time I devoted myself 

 chiefly to collecting birds, my observations upon which I make 

 the subject of the following notes. During my first visit I col- 

 lected from the 30th of January up to the 9th of April, 1868, 

 and on the second occasion from the 10th of February until the 

 10th of May, 1870, and brought home upwards of 500 speci- 

 mens, including more than 150 species. I also identified for 

 certain 30 other species, skins of which I did not preserve. 



Owing to my having on both occasions been in Egypt at about 

 the same season of the year, I missed obtaining some of the birds 

 which I should probably otherwise have met with; but from the 

 lateness of my stay, after the Nile was clear of its ordinary 



