Capt. G. E. Shelley on Egyptian Ornitholoyy. 133 



among sedge in the Delta, in the corn-fields of Upper Egypt, 

 and on the banks of the river in Nubia. 



83. Calamodyta melanopogon, Temm. 



This rare Warbler I shot on the 20th of February, in a marsh 

 near Damietta, and I believe I saw a few other specimens, vi^hich 

 being difficult to obtain, owing to the thickness of the reeds, I 

 neglected, as I considered the species at the time to be the com- 

 mon Sedge Warbler, which it very much resembles. My notes 

 on this bird, made at the time, run as follows : — " Appears to 

 keep exclusively to thick sedge in very marshy districts ; total 

 length 5 inches, beak brownish, legs black, irides brown." 



84. ACROCEPHALUS STENTORIUS, Ehr. 



This large Warbler has been met with in the Delta, frequent- 

 ing the thick sedge and reeds which surround some of the lakes. 

 It has been described by Mr. S. S. Allen, an admirable figure of 

 it accompanying the description (Ibis, 1864, p. 97, pi. i.). 

 Mr. E. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1867, p. 63) says that it is abundant in 

 a lake near Damietta early in April. I shot round this very 

 lake for a whole week in the beginning of February, but did 

 not meet with it once ; as it does not winter in Egypt, it had 

 probably not arrived. 



85. CiSTicoLA scHCENicoLA, Bp. Fan-tail Warbler. 



This cheerful little bird remains in Egypt and Nubia through- 

 out the year, where it may be met with in every green field, 

 either watching the intruder from some more elevated plant, or 

 pouring forth its notes as it hovers over the surrounding herbage. 



A nest of this bird which 1 found at Memphis on the 18th of 

 March was purse-shaped, with a small hole to admit the bird 

 near the top ; it was built in a clover-field about one foot from 

 the ground, and contained two white eggs freckled with rufous, 

 which were hard set. Dr. von Heuglin gives a full description 

 of the nest and eggs (Ibis, 1869, p. 133). 



86. Drymceca gracilis, Uiipp. 



I killed my first specimen of this long-tailed Warbler at 

 Dendera, on the 25th of March, having during the previous 

 month obtained two specimens of the next and closely allied 

 species. I met with the present bird most frequently in Nubia ; 



