Bird Notes from the Nile. 65 



in the same way, as being sacred to 

 Horus. 



The title of ** Keeper of the PeHcans' 

 House " is found in inscriptions of the 

 XlXth Dynast}^ and there are also pic- 

 tures of quantities of Cranes. These 

 graceful birds were presumably kept as 

 pets, and Erman describes an ancient 

 Egyptian picture the subject of which is 

 ** Giving Drink to the Cranes." Among 

 the innumerable representations of offer- 

 ings to the dead, there are few that do 

 not include among the variety of eatables, 

 a neatly trussed and probably well-roasted 

 goose or duck ; while the ** formula of 

 offering" alludes constantly, among the 

 rest of the lavish gifts, to '* thousands of 

 geese." At all the great festivals, enor- 

 mous quantities of oxen, geese, bread and 

 cakes, wine and beer, were sent as offer- 

 ings to the temples. There is a record of 

 a ten days' feast in honour of Ptah-Sokari- 

 Osiris, held at the temple of Medinet 

 Habu, in which 246 geese and other birds 

 appear in the long list of donations. To 

 keep up the constant large supply of 

 birds incubators were used from very early 



B.N. F 



