230 BIEDS OF EGYPT. 



had great difficulty in procuring it, which I finally succeeded 

 in doing by walking on one side instead of directly towards it, 

 when it couched on the sand, hoping to be passed unobserved ; 

 and thus, after an hour's pursuit, I obtained my third specimen. 



Forehead sandy rufous ; hinder part of the crown grey ; 

 nape black ; eyebrows white, extending back to the nape, 

 where they join a black streak running from the eye to the 

 nape ; remainder of the upper plumage sandy colour, except- 

 ing the primaries and primary-coverts, which are black, the 

 secondaries tipped with white, with more or less black on 

 their inner webs ; the tail-feathers, all but the two centre 

 ones, have black spots near the ends and their tips white ; the 

 sandy colour shades off" lighter on the underparts, and becomes 

 creamy white on the chin, lower part of the abdomen, and under 

 tail-coverts ; beak black ; legs enamelled white ; irides brown. 



Entire length 10 inches ; culmen 1 ; wing, carpus to 

 tip, 6"3 ; tarsus 2-1. 



Fig. Gould, B. of Em-, pi. 266. 



226. (Edicnemtjs crepitans, Temm. Tliick-biee. 



Plentiful throughout Egypt and Nubia, in pairs and 

 families, afi'ecting the more desert spots in the neighbour- 

 hood of small bushes, in preference to the cultivated fields, 

 while they are occasionally met with on the sandbanks of the 

 river. On the first approach of danger they crouch close to 

 the ground ; and when pursued, usually fly only for a short 

 distance, and then run with considerable fleetness. 



Upper plumage sandy colour, the centre of the feathers 

 marked with dark brown, some of the smaller wing-coverts 

 having a band of white and one of dark brown on them, 



