410 Mr. M. J. WicoW— Contributions 



has a curious bleached appearance^ which may be due to a 

 somewhat long stay in the Wadi. It is interesting to note 

 that the salt desert o£ the Wadi Natron appears to cause 

 bleaching and abrasion very quickly. I have specimens of 

 Crested Larks from there in which some of the feathers are 

 bleached almost white, and some specimens of Saxicola 

 descrti have the tips of their primaries worn completely oflP. 



PllATlNCOLA TORQUATA RUBICOLA. 



Pratincula rubicola (Liiiu.), Shelley, p. 81 ; Loat, Ibis, 

 1905, p. 455. 



During my visit in March 1910 a few Stonechats were 

 seen. Mr. Balboni forwarded a pair shot on October 29th, 

 1910. 



In November 1911 I found the Stonechat to be fairly 

 numerous. 



PiicENicuRUs PHCENicuRUS (Linn.). 



Ruticilla phoenicura Shelley, p. 82. 



Ruticilla phoenicurus Loat, Ibis, 1905, p. 455. 



Mr. Loat appears to have met with the Common Redstart 

 as early as January 21st. This is quite an exceptionally 

 early date for this species in Egypt. The first I saw in the 

 Wadi Natron was on March 20th, when a single adult male 

 was shot. A few days later several others were met with, 

 evidently new arrivals and all adult males. Mr. Balboni 

 sent me two shot on April 13th, 1910. 



Ph(enicurus ochrurus gibraltariensis. 



MutacUla (/ibruUarensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. 2, j). 987 

 (1789). 



PJucnicurus ochrurus gibraltariensis Hartert, Vog. d. pal. 

 Fauna, vol. i. p. 720. 



Ruticilla tltt/s (Scop.), Shelley, p. 83. 



A single female or immature male was observed on 

 March 18th, and I subsequently saw the same bird or 

 another on several occasions during my stay. In November 

 1911 I found Black Redstarts in some numbers and ob- 

 tained a young bird. One adult was seen but not procured. 



Mr. Loat did not meet with the Black Redstart. 



