Contributions to the Ornithology of Egypt. 405 



XXII. — Contributiuns to tlie Ornithology of Egypt *. — 

 No. III. The Birds of the Wadi Natron. By M. J. 

 NicoLL, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 



The Wadi Natron consists of a chain of salt lakes situated 

 to the north-west of Cairo and about twenty miles from the 

 Nile Valley. The Egyptian Salt and Soda Company have a 

 factory at Bir Hodmer, the " capital " of the Wadi. 



In March 1910, by kind permission of the Company I 

 paid a visit to the Wadi Natron, where I stayed for nine 

 days collecting- birds. My special reasons for going there 

 were : — 



(1) To obtain specimens of the Crested Lark (Galerida 

 cristata caroli), which Avas, until lately, believed to be 

 pecidiar to the Wadi Natron. 



(2) As only two collections of birds had previously been 

 made in this locality, i. e., by Mr. W. L. S. Loat and the 

 Hon. N. Charles Rothschild in 1903, the former of whom 

 published a paper on his observations ('Ibis/ 1905, p. 453), 

 I thought it probable that further work there might be 

 productive. 



(3) That, owing to the position of the Wadi, observations 

 on the migration of birds there might be of importance. 



As regards the last point Mr. Loat states that the 

 Wadi Natron is out of the track of migrating birds 

 ('Ibis,' 1905, p. 454), but as he was there at least a month 

 too early for the beginning of the spring migration it 

 is hardly surprising that he met with but few species. 

 Altogether he enumerates about forty-five. Mr. Rothschild 

 unfortunately did not publish any account of the birds 

 which he collected there, but I know that he obtained 

 examples of several species which Mr. Loat did not meet 

 with. 



During my visit in March 1910 the spring migration 



*■ See abis/ 1909, pp. iSr, and 623. 



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