454 Mr. W. L. S. Loat on Birds 



covered with " halfa "-grass and hardy plants ; beyond is the 

 desert in which are situated a few monasteries inhabited by 

 Coptic monks. 



As the Wadi-en-Natrun is private property, it was necessary 

 to obtain permission to reside there ; this was kindly granted 

 me by the Salt and Soda Company to whom it belongs. 

 From the English staff in charge I received every asistance 

 and much useful information as to the most likely places at 

 which to obtain birds, but owing to their scarcity I made 

 but a short stay, lasting only from January 21st to February 

 24th (1903). This scarcity, not only in point of numbers, 

 but of species, is hardly to be wondered at, when the 

 character and position of the Wadi are taken into considera- 

 tion, with its alkaline lakes and lack o£ suitable food, especially 

 for small birds, insect-life being conspicuous by its absence, 

 at any rate during the time that I remained there. Its 

 isolated position, however, would, I imagine, chiefly account 

 for this lack of birds, lying as it does thirty miles (at its 

 nearest point) from the cultivated land of the Nile on 

 the east, and about forty miles from it on the north. The 

 great mass of migrants striking the coast in the neighbour- 

 hood of Alexandria would diverge slightly to the east and 

 follow the cultivated land as they proceeded on their 

 journey south ; moreover, those migrants that do reach 

 the Wadi evidently come from the north, but, instead of 

 deviating to the east, continue in a direction nearly due 

 south. 



Above, in referring to the lack of insect-life, I should have 

 added that this does not apply to the mosquito, for on the 

 two or three occasions when I awaited the evening flight 

 of ducks close to some freshwater pools they (the insects, 

 not the ducks) came over in clouds and attacked me with the 

 greatest persistence. 



During my stay I obtained or identified forty-five species 

 of birds ; nearly all of these, however, were migrants, the 

 number of residents being very limited. 



Although I secured nothing of particular interest, I thought 

 that a list of birds from this rather out of the way spot 



