30 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vn. 



the Riifous Warbler singing in the Delta. But possibly this Warbler 

 may be a winter-visitor there, not a bird of passage. In Malta and 

 Gozo I heard the Willow- Warbler and the Common Whitethroat singing. 

 The cry of the Cuckoo was also to be heard. These birds, according 

 to Mr. A. L. Adams {Natural History and Archceology of the Nile 

 Valley and the Maltese Islands) and Mr. C. A. Wright (quoted above), 

 are birds of passage in Malta. The Cuckoo, however, I was told, 

 sometimes bred there. 



With regard to the winter-song of migrants, what observations 

 I have been able to make agree with those of Captain Lynes. It is 

 true that in January, 1898, Robins, Wrens, Blackcaps and a great many 

 Chiffchaffs were in full song at Constantine, but on the plateau there 

 all these species may be resident. I have no book on hand to refer 

 to on the subject. In the oases further south I did not hear the Chiff- 

 chaff's note. In Egypt, too, it was silent in January. But it is very 

 difficult to suggest a reason why in winter- time a migrant should feel 

 less inclined for song than a resident bird. 



F. W. Headley. 



