to the Ornithology of Egypt. fi4l 



The call-note of this Partridge, although soft and sweet, 

 is audible for a considerable distance in the silent desert 

 valleys, and were it not for this the bird might easily be 

 passed over, so well does its colour harmonize with its 

 surroundings. I have so far never seen more than two indi- 

 viduals together, but my experience of this species in a wild 

 state has been limited, though during the past three years I 

 have had no fewer than fifty birds under observation in 

 captivity. There appears to be no seasonable variation in 

 the change of colour in this species. The eggs are similar 

 in colour to those of Buff Orpington Fowls. 



201. COTURXIX COMMUNIS. 



Coturnix communis Shelley, p. 223. 



The Quail is a regular visitor during the spring and 

 autumn migrations, but is far more abundant during the 

 former season. A few pairs breed in the Province. 



202. PORZANA MARUETTA. 



Porzana maruetta Shelley, p. 274. 



The Spotted Crake is a regular visitor during the autumn 

 migration. I have no records of its occurrence here in spring. 



203. Crex pratensis. 

 Ortygometra crex Shelley, p. 274. 



I have but one record of the occurrence of the Land-Rail 

 in the Province, though there can be little doubt that it is a 

 regular visitor on migration. On the 29th of September, 

 1908, one of our keepers allowed a Siskin to escape from its 

 cage. I gave him a butterfly-net and told him to catch it 

 again. Half an hour later he brought me a Land-Rail which 

 he had caught in some long grass in the Gardens. 



204. Gallinula chloropus. 

 Gallinula ch/oropus Shelley, p. 275. 



A few Moorhens arrive in the Zoological Gnrdens in the 

 autumn, sometimes as early as September, and some remain 

 till the end of April or beginning of May. In April 1905 

 a pair bred on one of our lakes. This is the only record I 

 have of this species nesting in the province, but it breeds 

 abundantly in the Delta. 



