22 Lord Lilford^s Cruise in the Mediterranean. 



Sparrow [Pyrgita petronia) were the only Sparrows we met 

 •with in Sicily. 



We remained weather-bound at Syracuse till April 16th, 

 when we sailed for Malta, where we arrived about 3 p.m. on 

 the 17th, seeing a good many migrating birds on our way, 

 viz. one Roller, many House-Swallows, Yellow AVagtails, 

 Turtle Doves (one of which rested on board for some hours), 

 common Cranes, common Herons, and a few Little Egrets. 

 At Malta, where we remained till May 7th, I had the great 

 pleasure of making the acquaintance of a frequent contri- 

 butor to ' The Ibis,' Mr. C. A. Wright, with whom I had 

 several most interestiDg zoological conversations, and in 

 whose company I visited the very curious ruins in Gozo. 



Malta, though it affords apparently few attractions to an 

 ornithologist, is by no means in reality a barren field for him, 

 as Mr. Wright has abundantly proved. Almost every un- 

 happy tired straggler from the vast flocks of migratory birds 

 that seeks a temporary resting-place under British protection, 

 is immediately shot or bullied to death, and comes eventually 

 into the market. The only birds I saw at liberty in one or 

 two excursions in Malta, and on the occasion of our visit to 

 Gozo, were one Osprey, a Marsh-Harrier, a few Collared Fly- 

 catchers, Black-headed Warblers, Short-toed Larks, common 

 Buntings, House-Swallows, Swifts, Herring-Gulls (one adult). 

 Lesser Black-backed Gull, and many Shearwaters. I may, 

 however, mention that my excursions were very few, as I was 

 kept to my vessel by a fresh attack of gout, during which I 

 received every courtesy aud attention possible from all my 

 acquaintances and official friends in Malta. I was fortunate 

 enough to be able to visit Mr. Wright's collection, one of the 

 most interesting local museums I ever saw : almost every rare 

 specimen has a history ; and the owner has such a pleasant 

 way of imparting his varied stores of information on his 

 favourite subjects, that a visit to his collection is a real zoolo- 

 gical recreation. He, Mr. Wright, has given us such full 

 details of the ornithology of Malta in this Journal, that I will 

 only say that I saw his specimens of Falco eleanora, Actiturus 

 bartramius, the new European Chat Saxicola leucopyga, and 



