Ornithology of Cyprus. 23 



Madarasz, who had a female from Glaszner, noted that the 

 wings were somewhat shorter on the apical side than in the 

 typical mid-European form. 



One is accustomed to find the Raven breeding in Great 

 Britain in very inaccessible places, but in Cyprus it often 

 nests in suitable crevices in the little cliffs which form the 

 last part of the ascent of the " Tafel-kop " hills, so common a 

 feature of parts of the island landscape. In the plains in 

 winter Ravens often look for food in the fields in company 

 with Hooded Crows, Rooks, and Jackdaws. 



608. Coitvus frugilegus Linn. 



The Rook is a common winter visitor, although it does not 

 seem to have been noticed in any abundance by previous 

 writers. Pearse sent to Lord Lilford one specimen only, 

 which was taken in November, and Guillemard in his articles 

 mentions it only once and then states that " it did not appear 

 to be common, as, indeed, might be expected." Madarasz 

 does not seem to have received it from Glaszner. In the 

 neighbourhood of Nicosia the Rook arrives in mid-November 

 and leaves about mid-March. It may be seen in hundreds in 

 company with Jackdaws and Hooded Crows searching for food 

 on the cultivated lands, and it roosts at night in the tall 

 eucalyptus and other trees usually found in the immediate 

 vicinity of the towns and villages. The Rook never, so far 

 as I know, nests in the island, my earliest note of its arrival 

 being November the 18th and my latest of its stay March 

 the 20th. 



610. Cy/fselus apus (Liun.). 



The Swift is an exceedingly common summer visitor. 

 My first note of its arrival is on February 23rd, 1909, when 

 Mr. Baxendale observed a single bird at Papho : I noticed 

 several on March 3rd of the same year at Nicosia, but the main 

 body does not arrive until about the second week in March. 

 The wide-eaved houses, the ruins, and the old-world towns of 

 the island make an ideal home for this bird. It breeds all over 

 the island, even in the hotel near the summit of Troodos. 

 Horsbrugh took a good many clutches slightly incubated 

 at Kyrenia on April 24th, 1909, and it is, perhaps, worthy 



