of the Desert of Sinai and of the Holy Land. 109 



yards from each other. I will not dwell on our journey to 

 Ismailia ; but seldom have I seen so many Ducks of all kinds 

 (but principally Fuligula ferina, F. cristata, and Rhynchaspis 

 clypeata) as we observed from the railway- carriage, congre- 

 gated on some large pieces of water a little way beyond Za- 

 gazig, while the common Mallard and Anas crecca were there 

 in vast flocks, and seemed little disturbed by the passing train. 

 At Ismailia, and on the canal itself near that place, and also 

 in the neighbourhood of the town generally, I was much 

 struck with the entire absence of any animal life ; for, with the 

 exception of small sand-lizards and a Kite, we saw nothing 

 whatever, excepting one bird, which simply swarmed on the 

 banks of the " sweet-water canal," namely Motacilla alba. 

 Probably they were about to migrate ; for this bird, though 

 very common throughout the country in winter, lessens its 

 numbers greatly towards spring. On the following day we 

 went up the Suez Canal in a small steamer ; and about half- 

 way to Port Said a heavy hailstorm came on ; and as flock 

 after flock of wild fowl scudded away over head as the storm 

 drove them from their snug quarters on Lake Menzaleh, we 

 could almost fancy ourselves back in old England on a raw 

 winter^s day ; for it became very cold, and it was only the oc- 

 casional companies of Pelicans or Flamingos that passed by 

 our boat, that made us remember that we were sojourning 

 in a foreign land. 



On the 19th I found the harbour of Port Said swarming 

 with the Gulls and Terns. The most noticeable were Sterna 

 caspia, S. cantiaca in very small numbers, S. media, one ex- 

 ample of S. bergii, Larus fuscus, L. leucophaus, and L. ridi- 

 bundus. I saw several pairs of that splendid Gull, Larus 

 ichthyaetus, and killed one very good specimen. One of the 

 Caspian Terns that I shot, soon after daylight, from the break- 

 water, very nearly cost me dear. It fell into the sea, but 

 only about twenty yards from land ; and being a good speci- 

 men, I, anxious to secure it, and having no dog or boat, di- 

 vested myself quickly of ray clothes, and Avas about to clamber 

 down the stone piers previously to plunging in for my bird, 

 when a big black fin appeared for a moment above the surface 



