Collection of Birds from the Mediterranean. 17i 



in the winter time. The Hedge-Sparrow would therefore 

 appear to be a scarce winter visitor to Malta, for it certainly 

 does not breed there. 



Troglodytes troglodytes ^ (L.) , 



Crete. — 'Plentiful. First heard to sing, lltb March. A 

 pair feeding their young wei'e watched to the nest in a pre- 

 cipitous crag on 25tli April. 



Sicily. — Plentiful, breeding among the rocky cliffs and 

 boulders of the Cavas. In about twelve nests found 

 the eggs and young without exception numbered four.. 

 Young birds flew from a nest on 26th May, while nests 

 with fresh eggs were found on the same date and later, and 

 as no other Hedged young were seen the latter were not 

 likely to be second broods. 



[No specimens were procured in Crete, but three from 

 Sicily did not appear to be separable from the typical form. 

 —H.F. W.-] 



Chelidon rustica rustica (L.). 



Effi/pt. — Migrant only. Swallows were first seen on 8th 

 September, arriving in the forenoon in small parties and 

 flying low across the sandy strip that separates Lake Men- 

 zaleh from the Mediterranean. The species soon became 

 plentiful at Port Said, flying all over the harbour among the 

 ships and frequently perching on the rigging. When the last 

 Aveek of September came and the Swallows were still plentiful, 

 it looked as if some of them were likely to stop for the 

 winter, but at the end of October they diminished as quickly 

 as their ranks had swelled, leaving only a few stragglers (the 

 last seen on 15th November) to follow in the wake of the 

 main body. 



Crete. — First arrived 25th March, subsequently increased 

 till plentiful on 3rd April. Still migrating 29tli April, when 

 many came on board ship at sea, 40' west of Crete. No notes 

 made as to its breeding. 



* For the reason for the omission of the third name in this case see 

 under Coccothraustes, p. 124. 



