57Xf 



Miss D. M. A. Bate on some 



near a village, or where a well has been dug, which supplies 

 sufficient water for the cultivation of a garden. 



When riding along it is rare to see any birds other than 

 the flocks of Larks which abound in the dusty plain, or a 

 company of Griffon Vultures from the crags of the Kerynia 

 range attracted by some carcase lying on the outskirts of a 

 village. These are sometimes joined by the more uncommon 

 Black Vulture, and occasionally by an EajUe. I distinguished 

 two species of the latter, and I believe them to have been 

 the Imperial and Bonelli's Eagles, both of which were pro- 

 cured by Dr. Guillemard. Again, on Troodos, which rises 

 to 640G ft., and is the highest point of the range which bears 

 its name, there is but little variety among the birds found in 

 the pine-forest. Several of these are restricted to the forest 

 or descend only a short way below its limits — such are the 

 Jay, Crossbill, Cole-Tit, Creeper, and Wren. Besides these 

 the traveller seldom sees any bird but the Raven, which is 

 extremely common, the ubiquitous Eastern Pied Chat, and a 

 few Warblers, Spotted Flycatchers, Chaffinches, and two or 

 three others. In late autumn, when the Blackbirds and 

 Robins arrive in the island, great numbers are found in 

 the hills, and during a day spent in the forest on Troodos 

 in the latter part of November I could see every few yards 

 a Robin hopping among the undergrowth or searching for 

 food on the ground. Although they are extremely common 

 in the plains, I very rarely saw Hawks at any great height 

 on Troodos, though Vultures were not uncommon, and 

 occasionally an Eagle might be seen sailing past. Two other 

 species which are plentiful in the plains, but which I never 

 saw in the Troodos forest, are the Little Owl and the Magpie ; 

 the latter was seen at Prodromo about 4500 ft., but seemingly 

 it does not venture further than the edge of the forest. 



The best places for obtaining wild fowl and other marsh- 

 frequenting birds are near Famagusta and Kouklia, in the 

 cast of the Mesorsea, and at Morphou in the west; in winter 

 the salt-lakes at Larnaka and Limassol are also visited by 

 a good many water-birds. Warblers are generally seen in 

 numbers only where water is found during the greater part 



