3? 



point will bring with it numbers of the smaller 

 brids; and if it increase in strength the larger 

 birds and those of stronger flight will also make 

 their appearance. But there appears to be no 

 rule for birds strong on the wing, which arrive 

 under all circumstances of weather and with winds 

 from all points of the conlpass." 



Mr. Wright continues : " It is more especially 

 in spring that in the rocky "wieds" we find the 

 bright coloured Bee eaters, Orioles, and Boilers shel- 

 tering themselves from boisterous winds, while the 

 dense foliage of the Carob trees and Orange groves 

 serve them and many others for shade and roost- 

 ing places. At this season the Harriers scour the 

 rocks and corn fields; the Quails crouch amongst 

 the tangled stalks of the crimson Sulla; the Larks, 

 (Alauda braehydactyla) , hover over the rocky wastes, 

 covered with the aromatic Thymus Capitatus ; and 

 the numerous thickets of prickly pear (Cactus o- 

 puntict), fig, and pomegranate trees provide resting 

 places for Warblers. The air is perfumed by thous- 

 ands of wild flowers ; here and there rises a tall 

 palm ; and the Arab houses, language, and origin 

 of the inhabitants indicate, despite Acts of Parlia- 

 ment and a European fauna, Malta's alliance with 

 Africa and the East." 



The Revd. H. Seddall says that the indigenous 

 species comprise only the Jackdaw, which breeds 

 iu cliffs and the fortifications of Valletta; the Blue 



