Tour in Cyprus in 1887. 105 



On the 17th March I changed my quarters to Episcopi, 

 a little Turkish village near the site of the ancient Curium. 

 Unlike most Cypriote villages it was decidedly pretty. 

 An abundance of clear little streams brattled through the 

 streets^ and each house had its garden of lemons, mulberries, 

 figs, and apricots. The latter trees were in full blossom, and 

 the ground was everywhere strewn with the fallen petals. 

 Ten or twelve miles away to the south-east 1 could plainly 

 discern the lighthouse I had just left, while to the west the 

 yellow, hewn bluff of Curium stood out in bold relief against 

 the blue waters of the bay. 



The fields surrounding the village were tilled and irrigated 

 with great care, and birds were numerous. The gardens 

 would, no doubt, have been a better collecting-ground ; but 

 as the owners were chiefly Mohammedans, I could not obtain 

 permission to shoot in them. A goodly number of caroub 

 trees [Cerutonia siliqua) were scattered about. They are 

 planted singly, in the middle or by the side of the fields, 

 never in groves, and their fruit (the '"^ locust bean^^ of com- 

 merce) is one of the most important exports of Cyprus. In 

 each of these trees one or more Thrushes were invariably to 

 be found, and the clear loud " wheet " of Phylloscopus rufus, 

 and the ringing note of the Great Tit, were constantly to be 

 heard among their branches. The Linnets (the Eastern form, 

 Fringilla hello) and Goldfinches fed in great numbers on the 

 freshly tilled land, and were still packed in flocks at the 

 end of March. The latter may be said to be the commonest 

 bird in Cyprus ; nowhere else have I seen it in such enormous 

 numbers. 



I had obtained Phylloscopus rufus on the 8tli of March, 

 but it was not until the 18th that I saw the first Blackcap. 

 A day or two later they became numerous. This species, I 

 believe, has been called the " Cyprus bird," from its abun- 

 dance on the island. The name is not undeserved, for, with 

 the exception, perhaps, of Hypolais elaica, it is the commonest 

 of all the Warblers. About this time the Swallows were com- 

 mencing to build. Their tameness was extraordinary. While 

 brushing my hair one morning before an old looking-glass 



