Tour in Cyprus in 1887. 113 



that fed it^ and was almost the only species that permitted 

 me to approach within reasonable range. I saw also Sterna 

 caspia, Larus melanocephalus ; the three Herons, Ardea 

 bubidcus, garzetta, and comata ; the small Plovers ^. can- 

 tianus, hiaticula, and minor; and a species of Whimbrel. 

 Anthus cervinus I found feeding in small flocks of twenty 

 or thirty individuals on the Avet ground near the lake, and, 

 in spite of the lateness of the season, I put up a number of 

 Snipes. The only uncommon bird in my bag, however, 

 was the Little Grebe (Podiceps minor). The Turtle Dove 

 {Turtur auritus) arrived about this date, and on my ride 

 back I disturbed numbers of them from the caroub trees. 



I had intended, after leaving Famagusta, to proceed to the 

 Karpas, a long promontory jutting out for 40 or 50 miles at 

 the north-east part of the island ; but the little time left to 

 me before the summer, and the fact that a famine was then 

 prevailing in that district, made me resolve on making for 

 the north-east at once. Not a mule was to be had in the 

 whole of Famagusta, but, fortunately, a rough road existed 

 as far as Lefkonico, and I was able to get a native cart to 

 carry my baggage thither, trusting to find mules or donkeys 

 to carry it on to Akanthu, where I proposed to take up my 

 quarters for a week or so. On my way I passed a nice marsh 

 (little, if at all, known to the English), where 1 put up several 

 Snipes and Ducks^ although only walking a few yards into 

 it. At Lefkonico I was detained for two days by incessant 

 rain. A torrent, about eighteen inches in depth, rushed 

 through the streets, and all going out was an impossibility 

 until the afternoon of the second day. I found a nest of 

 Melanocorypha calandra, with the eggs already hard-set, and 

 saw a few Cypselus melba and a great number of Bee-eaters. 

 The barley was being cut and carried, and I was astounded 

 at the enormous number of Turtle Doves feeding in the fields. 

 In one flock there must have been at least six or seven hun- 

 dred birds, and were more probably a thousand. The ravages 

 of this species, I should iffcagine, must be distinctly felt by the 

 farmers. I ought to add, however, that I never saw them so 

 numerous at any other place on the island. 



SER. V. VOL. VI. I 



