The Oologisfs' Record, September i, 1922. 59 



hence the Rollers and Bee-Eaters ; while all manner of sweet-scented 

 flowers are an irresistible attraction to the Sunbirds by reason of 

 the honey they contain. I have found as many as half a doz^n 

 nests of Arachnechthra asiatica within a few yards of each other in 

 my compound, (c) I also have an idea that many birds come into 

 tlie haunts of man for- the sake of peace and quietness ; vermin is 

 ruthless]}' kept in check, so that to a great extent they are free from 

 the fear of natural enemies. 



In the jungles of the Central Provinces I was always very struck 

 h\ the fact that, during the hundreds of miles I used to tramp during 

 the breeding season I rarely came across many nests in the heart of 

 the jungle ; but in the vicinity of villages several species of Doves, 

 Munias, the Brown-backed Robin {Thamnobia cambaiensis) , Rap- 

 tores, Bulbuls, and others bred freely, while all manner of Waterfowl 

 nested in the cover round the village tanks or up in the trees along- 

 side them. The rare and shyer species were naturally only to be 

 found far from the haunts of man. 



Cultivation in Palestine has undoubtedly attracted large numbers 

 of breeding birds, the principal kinds being Greenfinches, Gold- 

 finches, Bulbuls, Doves, Spotted Flycatchers, Rufous Warblers, 

 Spanish Sparrows and Warblers of the tribe Sylvia and Hippolais. 

 But the most interesting of all is the li.ttle Sunbird, Cinnyris osea, 

 which has been attracted to the country by the rich feeding to be 

 had in the orange and lemon groves, and which is now said to 

 breed in the Jordan Valley. It is only within comparatively recent 

 years that the coastal plain has been planted out with orange and 

 lemon groves, with almond groves and ' vineyards, and with large 

 plantations of eucalyptus for firewood. All these localities nowa- 

 days are first-class hunting grounds for the egg-coUector. The 

 orange groves contain hundreds of nests of the Greenfinch, plenty 

 of those of the Turtle Dove, and fewer of the Bulbul, Goldfinch, 

 Olivaceous Warbler, Rufous Warbler, Sylviidae and Spotted Fly- 

 catcher. Lemon groves, where the fohage is not so thick as with 

 the oranges, are equally favoured by the Greenfinches, but more 

 freely resorted to by Goldfinches and Bulbuls. The eucalyptus 

 plantations, more particularly those that have been chopped down 

 once and are growing up again, seem to be the preserves of the 

 Rufous Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, and Spotted Flycatcher, while 

 to a lesser extent Doves, Bulbuls, Goldfinches and Greenfinches breed 

 in them. In the tall eucalyptus trees are often found huge colonies 



