52 Mr. E. C. Taylor's Ornitholoyical 



and tame. Irides dark red. We used to eat both this and the 

 next species of Plover, bat both were rather dry and insipid. 



62. Pluvianus iEGYPTius, Linn. Black-beaded Plover. 



I did not see this very pretty species below Cairo, but above 

 I found it evei'ywhere numerous. Irides dark brown. Legs 

 and feet pale blue. Toes three in number. This bird enjoys 

 the credit of being the Trochilos of Herodotus, which he men- 

 tions as living on such terms of intimacy with the Crocodile. 

 The account which that vei'acious historian gives of the entente 

 cordiale between these apparently ill-assorted allies is as fol- 

 lows : — "As the Crocodile lives chiefly in the river, it has the 

 inside of its mouth constantly covered with leeches ; hence it 

 happens that while all other birds and beasts avoid it, with the 

 Trochilos it lives at peace, since it owes much to that bird : for 

 the Crocodile, when he leaves the water and comes out upon 

 the land, is in the habit of lying with his mouth wide open, 

 facing the western breeze : at such times the Trochilos goes into 

 his mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits the Croco- 

 dile, who is pleased, and takes care not to hurt the Trochilos" 

 Herodotus, Book ii., end of chap. 68. As a matter of fact, I 

 seldom saw a crocodile on land without seeing a Pluvianus 

 cegyptius near him. 



63. Charadrius minor. Little Ringed Plover. 

 Occasionally seen, and shot. 



64. Vanellus cristatus. Lapwing. 



We once fell in with a small flock of these birds, and shot 

 some of them. 



65. Vanellus leucurus (Licht.). White-tailed Plover. 



Vanellus Villotcei, Savigny's Descr. de FEg. pi. 6. fig. 2. 

 This is, perhaps, the rarest species of bird we procured in 

 Egypt. There is one footless specimen only in the British 

 Museum, which is not named ; and in the Paris Museum, at the 

 Jardin des Plantes, I could not find it at all. Savigny says that 

 it is found only in Egypt. The only part of the country where I 

 saw it was on an extensive tract of wet, marshy ground about 

 four or five miles S.W. of Thebes, on the left bank of the river. 

 There, however, it was abundant, and we shot several. Length 



