Reminiscences of Egypt. 47 



24. Cypselus apus. Common Swift. 

 Tolerably abundant. 



25. HiRUNDO RusTiCA. Common Swallow. 



I found this bird abundant in and around Alexandria and 

 Cairo on my arrival in Egypt about the middle of November. 

 I do not recollect whether I saw it on my return to Lower 

 Egypt at the end of January. 



26. HiRUNDO RUPESTRis. Crag Swallow. 



Gould's Birds of Europe, vol. ii. pi. 56. 

 The most abundant of the Hinindines above Cairo. I found 

 a nest of this species, on the 25th of January, in the grottoes 

 of Beni-Hassan, containing two eggs nearly ready to hatch. 

 Both nest and eggs much resembled those of the Common 

 Swallow. 



27. Merops viridis. Egyptian Bee-eater. 



Very abundant, and generally seen in small flocks. This 

 species is not more than half the size of Merops apiaster. 

 Irides red. 



28. Alcedo ispida. Common Kingfisher. 



I saw this bird once only, near Atfeh, the place where the 

 Mahmoudeeh Canal joins the Nile. 



29. Alcedo rudis. Black and White Kingfisher. 



Gould's Birds of Europe, vol. ii. pi. 62. 

 Abundant all the way from Alexandria to the first Cataract, 

 and very tame and familiar. The food of this species seems to 

 be entirely fish ; I have often watched it hovering over a shallow 

 pool of water, and every now and then darting down, and catch- 

 ing fishes sometimes as much as three or four inches in length. 

 This bird breeds in holes in the banks of the Nile. Its irides 

 are dark brown. Legs and feet black. 



30. Lanius excubitor. Grey Shrike. 

 Occasionally shot, but not by any means abundant. 



31. Petrocincla cyanea. Blue Rock-Thrush. 



Gould's Birds of Europe, vol. ii. pi. 87. 

 We only procured one specimen of this bird in Egypt. It 

 is one of the commonest species of birds in Italy. I have 



