44 Bird Notes from the Nile. 



sees it everywhere — on the edge of the 

 desert, in green fields, and among the 

 graves of the dreary-looking Arab ceme- 

 teries — nodding its knov^^ing little head 

 with the odd crest, like the feather on 

 the head of Maat, the Egyptian goddess 

 of truth. The Crested Larks are very 

 cunning in the way they hide their nests. 

 They generalty make them in a hole in 

 the ground, in some sequestered nook 

 hidden by grass or stones. It is curious 

 that these birds differ in the shade of their 

 colouring according to the tone of the 

 locality which they inhabit, those in a 

 light, sandy district being much paler in 

 plumage than those which have their 

 home where the soil is dark. 



Then there are the Desert Larks — 

 " Dust Birds " we used to call them — 

 with plumage so like the sand that when 

 they are still they are quite difficult to 

 see, even at a short distance. They are 

 friendly little birds, and would run in 

 and out among our tent ropes, picking 

 up the little scraps of food we threw 

 out for them. 



There are two varieties of desert larks, 



