FROM THE EAST. f>05 



in Upper Egypt, in suitable situations, in the choice of which, 

 however, it appears to be very particular. Gardens with solitary 

 palms, thick bushes with places for perching on, after the 

 fashion of the Bee-eaters, and especially telegraph-wires are 

 among its requirements. So little does this taine bird shun 

 mankind and his dwellings, that even repeated shots do not 

 frighten it away from its favourite resorts. I saw one paired 

 couple at Kom-el-Emir, on a hedge near the bank of the Nile : 

 otherwise they were always in flocks of as many as thirty 

 individuals. They fluttered round the trees like butterflies, 

 and flitted from one suitable spot to another. 



4. CYPSELUS PALLIDUS. Egyptian Swift. 



This bird is very critical in the selection of its haunts and 

 is less frequently found than one anticipates ; but where it does 

 settle it congregates in great numbers. Its dwelling-places 

 are in the steep mountains bordering the valley of the Nile, 

 principally in the northern parts of the country. I found it, 

 for instance, in great swarms on the rocks of the quarry in 

 the Mokattam hills near Cairo. 



5. CYPSELUS PAKVUS. Little Grey Swift. 



This is the characteristic Swift of Upper Egypt, and may 

 be found in all suitable situations. It is very common, for 

 example, at the ruins of Karnak. In the mornings I saw 

 great numbers of them hunting gnats over the waving corn- 

 fields in true Swift fashion. 



6. FALCO BARBARUS. Barbary Falcon. 



I observed a pair of these beautiful falcons on the island of 

 Bezire-Karun at Lake Birket-el-Karun, where they circled 

 all day long round the rocks of the highest point of the 

 island ; otherwise they were very rare, and never seen except 



