116 Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard — Ornithological 



more limited in its distribution, although it is still abundant 

 at the southern and western parts of the island. 



I camped below the ruins of Bellapais, a magnificent 

 semimouastic building of the Lusignan period, with a great 

 part of the beautiful cloisters still standing, and spent 

 most of the following day in photographing it. Hlrundo 

 rufula was in great abundance here, and in a large hall, which 

 was doubtless the refectory, there were many nests. Most of 

 them were inaccessible, but from one I took some eggs, no 

 doubt of a second clutch. The Commissioner of the Kyrenia 

 district, with whom I was staying later, informed me that a 

 pair had raised three broods of young ones in one season in 

 a nest built in his bedroom. 



The medieval foi'tress of Kyrenia, and the remains of the 

 walls and other fortifications by which the ancient town was 

 surrounded, would take many days thoroughly to explore, 

 and I regretted that I had not more time to devote to them. 

 My rambles in the neighbourhood were very unproductive. 

 There are numerous foxes, as there are, indeed, in most parts 

 of the island. Hares, too, are fairly abundant. A native 

 sportsman at Akanthu, who seemed a tolerably good ob- 

 server, declared that there Avere two species of the latter 

 animal, one of which was entirely confined to the mountains. 

 He described it as being of a darker colour and smaller size ; 

 but though I offered to j)ay him well if he brought a speci- 

 men, I never got one. Those that I shot on the island did 

 not seem to differ from our species. Their average weight 

 was a little over 7 lbs. 



I arrived at Lapethus, a village a few miles to the west of 

 Kyrenia, on the 15th May. With its streams of running 

 water and abundance of greenery it has a fair claim to be 

 considered one of the prettiest places in the island. Here I 

 wasted three days in a vain search for caves, none of those 

 I found being of sufficient size to render digging worth 

 while. I hardly added a specimen to my collection. Few 

 birds were to be seen, and I find in my diary a note against 

 a Sylvia melanothorax I shot here, " anything but common 

 on this northern side.'^ This part and the promontory of 



