8 Mr. J. A. Bucknill on the 



432. Petronia stulta (Gmel.) . 



As Fringilla -petronia Linn.,, the Rock Sparrow is included 

 by Sibthorp is bis list, but apparently he does not mention 

 it in his journal It duly re- appears in Unger and Kotschy's 

 list and in those of the later writers, without any additional 

 remarks. No one has hitherto been able to confirm 

 Sibthorp's record. 



450. Fringilla ccelebs Linn. 



The Chaffinch is a common resident and it is rather 

 remarkable that, apparently, it was not recorded prior to 

 Guillemard's visit. Even he has little to say about it; he 

 met with a single specimen in February near Nicosia, and 

 found it in June on Troodos ; he, however, brought back 

 three specimens, two obtained on Troodos in April and Mav, 

 and one near Limassol in March. Glaszner sent a good 

 series to Madarasz, obtained in January, February, May, 

 June, September, and December in various localities, and 

 the bird is casually mentioned by Miss Bate. 



Guillemard thought that the Chaffinch retreats to the hills 

 in the summer. Its movements in the island are in my 

 opinion rather similar to those of some other local species, 

 and are sufficiently interesting to be referred to in some 

 detail. The extreme heat and the sunburnt arid character 

 of the plains during the summer months, coupled with the 

 scarcity of water, render the hills, with plenty of foliage, a 

 cooler climate and the perpetual streams a far more preferable 

 home for most birds which spend the hot part of the year in 

 the Island. The Chaffinch well exemplifies this fact. 



In the winter months it is abundant in the plains, and I 

 have no doubt that its numbers are then largely increased by 

 visitors from the north. In February or the beginning of 

 March it breaks into song, and towards the end of April those 

 individuals which have not migrated north retire to nest in 

 the cooler parts of the mountains. From May to the middle 

 of October it is very common on Troodos ; it nests there 

 in May and June, Horsbrugh having found young on the 

 1st of May, while Mr. Nicolls sent me a clutch of fresh eggs, 



