14 Bird Notes from the Nile. 



** Demoiselle " is, I believe, a resident in 

 Egypt, and, though rare, is sometimes to 

 be seen. 



The beautiful purple Heron, also a 

 native, is commoner in the Delta and 

 Lower Egypt, but may sometimes be met 

 with above Luxor, especially during the 

 summer inundations. 



The Black Stork is rather a rare bird, 

 though he may be found now and again, 

 generally standing like a solitary sentry, 

 as he appeared to us on a little sand bank 

 or islet near the Bab Kalabsheh ; rocky 

 crags not far from the desert borders being 

 his resting-place. 



All the birds on the river were a never- 

 ending pleasure to me. The Pelicans 

 would dehght us with their quaint ways 

 and the extraordinary patience with which 

 they sat for hours, with outspread wings, 

 drying themselves in the sun, only to 

 plunge into the water and begin the 

 same process over again ! They often 

 made me think of the lines in ** Lalla 

 Rookh"— 



"... the white peUcans that break 

 The azure calm of Moeris' lake." 



