observed in the Ionian Islands, &^c. 237 



and Corfu. Near the mouth of the river Kalamo these birds 

 breed on the bare rocks, after the manner of some of the Gulls. 

 On the peninsula of Pagania there is a curious natural pit, some 

 60 or 70 feet in depth, frequented by this species in great 

 numbers. In this, my servant (who was once lowered into it by 

 a rope, for the purpose of forcing out the doves) had an en- 

 counter with a wild cat, which at last retreated into a side gal- 

 lery and was lost sight of. On throwing stones down this pit, a 

 dozen or two of Doves, Blue Thrushes, Blackbirds, Little Owls, 

 and Nuthatches [Sitta syriaca) would often dash out in confu- 

 sion, with now and then a large Bat ; and on one occasion a 

 Peregrine Falcon. There are small colonies of Bock-doves in 

 many parts of the coast of the island of Corfu, particularly at 

 Paleocastrizza and near Porto Serpente. 



151. TuRTLE-DovE. [Columba turtur.) 



Arrives in Corfu and Epirus early in April in great numbers, 

 and remains to breed, disappearing about the end of August. 



152. Common Pheasant. {Phasianus colchicus.) 



The only localities in which I have myself seen Pheasants in 

 these parts, w^ere, once on the Luro River, near Prevesa, in March 

 1857, on which occasion I only saw one, the bird having never 

 previously been met with in that part of the country ; and again, 

 in December of the same year, in the forests near the mouth of 

 the river Drin, in Albania, where it is comparatively common, 

 and where several fell to our guns. In this latter locality, the 

 Pheasant's habitat seems to be confined to a radius of from 

 twenty to thirty miles to the north, east, and south of the town 

 of Alessio, — a district for the most part densely wooded, and well 

 watered, with occasional tracts of cultivated ground, Indian 

 Corn being apparently the principal produce, and forming, with 

 the berries of the Privet (which abounds throughout Albania), 

 the chief food of the present species. We heard many more 

 Pheasants than we saw, as the woods were thick and of great 

 extent, our dogs wild, and we lost a great deal of time in 

 making circuits to cross or avoid the numerous small but deep 

 streams which intersect the country in every direction. This 

 species is particularly abundant on the shores of the Gulf of 



s 2 



