Heeds and Faishes. 35 



quiet, the '* stones " appeared again in thousands, and we 

 soon diE covered that they were really small brown crabs. 

 The crabs seldom stray far from their holes, so that it was 

 by no means easy to catch any of them. If surprised 

 suddenly, and not being able to reach his own home, a 

 crab would dart into a neighbour's hole, but only to be 

 chased out by the owner, and thus he could be captured 

 before going to ground again. Some curlew'-' and whim- 

 brelf were running about on the edge of the river at a 

 little distance away from us, and with our glasses we could 

 see that every now and again one of the birds would make 

 a rush, and catching a crab by a leg would drag it from 

 its retreat. The bird would then walk off with its captive 

 to the hard ground, and after breaking the crab's shell 

 against the stones, as a thrush does a snail, make short 

 work of its soft inside. 



Of the many interesting birds such as eagles and kites 

 to be found in the wooded part of this country I hope to 

 write in a subsequent article. Occasionally amongst the 

 tamarisks there is a small lake often with an island, some- 

 times covered with reeds or rushes, sometimes with tamarisk. 

 Many kinds of herons breed on these islands in colonies. 

 Owing to the dry spring of 1898, water, and hence food for 

 the birds, was scarce, and consequently they began to 

 breed much later than usual. Up to the 7th of May, no 

 herons, excepting the purple heron, were to be found at 

 their breeding places. However, we had ample opportuni- 

 ties of watching these beautiful birds, which were always to 

 be seen feeding in the marshes bordering on the wooded 

 land. A most striking and beautiful sight is that of a 

 flock of buff-backed herons J looking a dazzling white in 



* Nnmenius arquata. + Numenius phoeoims. 



t Ardea hub ulcus. 



c 2 



