126 Col. R. ^Meineitzhitocn o/< the [Ibis, 



VI. — A Note on. the Breeding/ Birds of Crete. 

 By Col. \l. Meixertzhagen, B.S.O., M.l^.'o.U.. B^Z.S. 



I ARitiVED in (h-ete on the -ttli of June, 1920, ami left the 

 island in early July, liaving had my visit cut short for official 

 reasons. H. L. Powell accompanied me as taxidermist. 



Landing at (^uidia I collected for three days in the neigh- 

 bourhood and then went direct to Monnt Ida, the central 

 hill-mass of Crete. Here I remained for about a fortnight. 

 No collecting was done outside the Candia district. 



The area comprising this district falls easily into three 

 areas : — 



(a) Below 2500 feet. Human habitations and cultivation, 



mostly olives, vines, orchards, and corn. 

 (/>) Between 3000 and 4500 feet. Ilex forest on mountain 



slopes. 

 {(•) Above 4500 feet. The bare wind-swept hills of Ida 

 and Nidha with the remarkable Nidha Plain. The 

 summit of Ida is 8200 feet elevation, and snow was 

 still lying about in drifts of many acres in extent 

 above ()500 feet. 



Travelling in Crete in summer is easv. The weather is 

 perfect and one can sleep anywhere, though the nights 

 on Ida were bitterly cold. I always bedded down in some 

 o-arden, havino- taken no tent with mo. On Mount Ida one 

 has difficulty in avoiding an incessant wind, as shelter is 

 rare, but we usually managed to get in a hollow. Staple 

 foods can be obtained everywhere and good water abounds. 

 Mule transport is the rule, a beast carrying about 400-450 

 pounds the whole day without fatigue. There is but one 

 great drawback — expense. A naturalist, living simply, 

 witiiout tent or luxury, must be prepared to spend £100 

 per month, excluding his ticket to the island. Mules cannot 

 be hired for less than £1 a day each. A guide-interpreter 

 costs from £12 to £15 per month. My expenses were par- 

 ticularly heavy, as I was compelled to retain in my service 

 the numerous policemen and consular messengers who were 

 S(>archinir for me for three weeks. 



