408 Canon H. B. Tristram's Ornithological 



which, curiously enough, I never saw, or overlooked, in former 

 years, but which was found by Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 

 and since their days in some plenty in Cyprus by Lord Lilford. 

 I met with it ffequently in the north of Palestine, but appa- 

 rently on migration, though I think there can be no doubt that 

 it breeds on the Syrian highlands. I also obtained near Bey- 

 rout the Goldcrest, Reguliis cristahts, and the Great Snipe, 

 Gallinago major. I saw also a specimen of the Bearded Tit 

 [Panurus biarmicus), which had been shot in some reeds near 

 Beyrout on November 18th by Dr. Van Dyck. These four 

 are the only absolute additions I have to make to our fauna. 



I may also note that the only specimen of the Cream- 

 coloured Courser which I obtained is very different in hue 

 from any others I have ever seen, being of a much deeper 

 and richer colour. There is no other distinction which I can 

 detect. In measurements it exactly corresponds with a dozen 

 other specimens in my collection. 



The Francolin appears to have now a wider range in Pales- 

 tine than has hitherto been ascribed to it, and we several times 

 put it up in places where, had it existed eighteen years ago, 

 I could not have missed it. In the dry thickets of the Lower 

 Jordan valley, on the east side, we often heard four or five 

 males uttering their challenge soon after dawn, and succeeded 

 in flushing them from the brushwood. They were also 

 plentiful near the springs of the Jordan, at Tell Kadi, where, 

 though one of our best nesting-grounds in 1864, we had never 

 found them. In fact there were few patches of stunted scrub 

 in the plains, wet or dry, where the Francolin was not heard. 

 In Syria, north of the Lebanon, it is spread over the whole 

 lowlands, affecting especially the myrtle-thickets. Though, 

 alas ! extinct in Europe, it would seem to be on the increase 

 throughout Syria, while in Cyprus, according to common 

 report, the annexation to England has sealed its doom. 



When, in the early part of May, I crossed the Lebanon 

 and journeyed up the coast, and then across the Ansairiyeh 

 Mountains into the Syrian plain, I had a good opportunity of 

 noticing how very sharp is the line of demarcation between 

 several closely allied species. It is well known that deserts 



