to the Ornithology of Egypt. 495 



MOTACILLA YLAVA PYGMyEA Brelim. 



? Motacilla jiava Loat, Ibis, 1906, p. 117. 



The Egyptian form o£ the Grey-headed Wagtail was very 

 abundant in the clover-fields round Damietta, and three 

 examples were obtained, two males and one female. 



This subspecies differs from Motacilla flava cinereocapilla, 

 as well as from all the other forms of the Blue-headed 

 Wagtail, in its small size and short wing and tail ; these 

 peculiarities are very noticeable during flight ; the wing-bars 

 are only faintly marked. Adult males have a very small 

 white eye-stripe, though in some specimens it is hardly 

 discernible. 



I have specimens of this Wagtail shot in the neighbour- 

 hood of Cairo from September to May. Those obtained 

 during May were feeding young, so there is no doubt 

 that this species remains in Egypt throughout the year. 

 Such being the case, it is interesting to find that there is a 

 perfectly distinct form of Motacilla flava resident in the 

 Nile Delta. 



Motacilla flava tgpica, M. f. borealis, and M. f. melano- 

 cephala all pass through Egypt on migration. 



Anthus pratensis. 



Anthus pratensis Shelley, p. 131 ; Loat, Ibis, 1906, p. 118. 



Next to the Red-throated Pipit, this species was the most 

 abundant Pipit at the time of our visit. It is a winter- 

 visitor to Egypt. One specimen was obtained. 



Anthus cervinus. 



Anthus cervinus Shelley, p. 131 ; Loat, Ibis, 1906, p. 131. 



Hed-throated Pipits were found in numbers on every 

 damp or cultivated spot in the vicinity of Gheit-el-Nassara. 

 I consider them to be the most abundant of all the winter- 

 visitors to Egypt. It is impossible to walk through a field in 

 Lower Egypt without putting up scores of these birds. In 

 a day's walk thousands of them may be met with. The 

 call-note differs from that of all other palaearctic Pipits, 

 though it somewhat approaches in character that of the 

 Tree-Pipit. It is a long-drawn " cheep ! " more like the 



