746 ^Ir. C. B. Ticeliurst on the Birds noticed 



I wondered for wliat purpose tliese two allied species tlnis 

 '* decorate " their nests. This nest was ready for eggs. The 

 Maltese Sparrow [Passer dumesticus melitensis) I saw only 

 round houses^ and even there it seemed wild, but I remarked 

 that the striping on the flanks was very noticeable. In 

 rioriana long earthenware bottles, with the bottoms knocked 

 out, are put up under the eaves for these birds to nest in. 



On the morning of the 25th, when a hundred and eighty- 

 three miles from Malta and from the African coast, we had 

 Turtle-Dovcs passing across our bows every half-hour or so 

 in twos and threes. None settled, and only one circled round 

 the boat until joined by two or three others, and then went, as 

 did all the others, N. by E. In the afternoon a Blue-head 

 Wagtail came on board, and remained with us until we were off 

 Alexandria — an assisted passage of seven hundred and fifty 

 miles. Later a Meadow-Pipit and some Swallows alighted; 

 the latter went to roost in the saloon. 



On skinning the birds I had bought in the Malta market, I 

 found that the Scops Owl had the remains of a lizard and 

 some beetles in the gizzard and that the ovary was not 

 enlarged appreciably ; the ovary of the Rock-Thrush Avas in 

 the same state and the gizzard held the remains of beetles and 

 snails. The Roller had the remains of beetles in its gizzard, 

 the testes slightly enlarged ; the Red-footed Falcon had the 

 ovary not enlarged and remains of beetles in the gizzard ; the 

 Golden Orioles had the organs slightlycnlarged, and some had 

 the remains of green and hairy caterpillars in their gizzards. 

 The last-mentioned birds were fairly fat, the colour of the fat 

 being bright golden. The colour of fat in birds varies some- 

 what, and perhaps has some correlation with the colour of the 

 plumage. I have once or twice noted that some birds with 

 bright red in the soft parts [e . g . 'sn\.n\i Oyster-catchers) have 

 the fat distinctly tinged with red. 



The next day we were skirting along about sixty miles from 

 the Afi'ican coast, but the only birds seen were a Swallow and 

 some Mediterranean Shearwaters ; these latter were going 

 about in parties of five or six, and their typical flight was 

 well seen. They seemed to fly in segments of large circles and 



