48 MIGEATING BIEDS. 



lidus ; among the Waders, Ciconia alba, C. nigra, Nuwenius 

 arcuatus, Herodias garzetta, Ilimantopus Candidas, Totamis 

 stagnatilis, T. ocliropus, and (Edicnemus crepitans. Occa- 

 sionally we saw Crater opus acacia in small parties of three or 

 four ; and at Wady Haifa is to be found Pi/ciionotus arsinoe. 

 Among the Gulls we frequently saw flocks of a large species, 

 probably the Mediterranean Herring-Gull, Larus leucophaus ; 

 and we shot the Lesser Black-headed Gull, Z. fascus, and the 

 Scissor-bill, Rhynchops Jlavirostris, travelling northwards down 

 the Nile towards the end of April. Nubia, for the ordinary 

 Nile-tourist, has many charms : the scenery is finer, and the 

 air purer and fresher than lower down ; there is also here a 

 marvellous absence of fleas and flies. 



On om- return-journey we found Ehj/nchops Jtavirostris 

 evidently preparing to breed, towards the end of April, on the 

 sandbanks near Kom Ouibd and Erment. On the 20th of 

 April we first met with the Common Tm'tledove {Tiirtiir 

 auritus) at Edfoo; it had just arrived in the countiy, and 

 soon became extremely abundant ; six days later we found 

 the Roller and Oriole just arrived from their Avinter quarters, 

 and on the same day shot the only specimen of Botaurus 

 miuutus which we met with in Egypt, at Esne. It is an in- 

 teresting sight to watch the vast flights of certain birds 

 wending their way north, on their annual migration. To- 

 wards the end of March and beginning of April we saw 

 many of the sandbanks literally whitened by dense flocks of 

 White Storks ; and one evening such an immense flight of 

 Pelicans came streaming down the river, that they must have 

 taken nearly half an hour to pass our boat in one continued 

 imbroken cloud, although we kept up a steady fire at them as 

 they came over our heads about forty yards high. We 

 noticed upon several successive evenings, towards sunset, a 



