﻿62 
  Lieut. 
  H. 
  E. 
  Barnes 
  on 
  the 
  Birds 
  of 
  Aden. 
  

  

  Another 
  road 
  branches 
  off 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  Main 
  Pass 
  

   and 
  leads 
  along 
  the 
  causeway^ 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  

   Isthmus^ 
  through 
  the 
  Barrier 
  Gate, 
  giving 
  access 
  to 
  the 
  

   mainland. 
  About 
  three 
  miles 
  out 
  Khor 
  Maksor 
  is 
  reached, 
  

   and 
  here 
  the 
  Aden 
  Troup 
  of 
  Cavalry 
  is 
  quartered. 
  The 
  polo- 
  

   ground 
  is 
  also 
  situated 
  here. 
  Another 
  mile 
  onward 
  the 
  salt- 
  

   works 
  previously 
  alluded 
  to 
  are 
  reached, 
  and 
  one 
  more 
  mile 
  

   brings 
  us 
  to 
  Shaik 
  Othman, 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  limit 
  of 
  British 
  

   territory. 
  

  

  The 
  Isthmus 
  is 
  entered 
  on 
  its 
  western 
  side 
  through 
  a 
  

   massive 
  gate 
  placed 
  in 
  a 
  gap 
  in 
  a 
  spur 
  running 
  from 
  the 
  

   Munsoorie 
  Height, 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  a 
  detached 
  portion 
  of 
  

   which 
  is 
  the 
  fortress 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  Last 
  Retreat, 
  or 
  Jebel 
  

   Hadeed. 
  The 
  Isthmus 
  is 
  divided 
  into 
  two 
  unequal 
  portions 
  

   by 
  another 
  spur 
  from 
  Munsoorie 
  ; 
  the 
  larger 
  portion 
  is 
  

   occupied 
  by 
  the 
  barracks 
  and 
  the 
  rifle-range. 
  The 
  aqueduct 
  

   ends 
  here. 
  

  

  A 
  short 
  tunnel 
  has 
  been 
  pierced 
  through 
  this 
  spur, 
  giving 
  

   access 
  to 
  the 
  smaller 
  portion, 
  in 
  which 
  is 
  situated 
  the 
  Arsenal. 
  

   The 
  Camp 
  is 
  reached 
  thence 
  through 
  a 
  tunnel 
  350 
  yards 
  

   long, 
  excavated 
  through 
  solid 
  rock 
  and 
  sufficiently 
  wide 
  to 
  

   admit 
  of 
  wheeled 
  traffic. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  opposite 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  harbour, 
  near 
  Huswa, 
  is 
  

   a 
  river-bed 
  which 
  is 
  generally 
  dry, 
  containing 
  only 
  an 
  

   occasional 
  pool 
  of 
  water, 
  but 
  after 
  rain 
  it 
  rapidly 
  fills 
  and 
  

   discharges 
  into 
  the 
  harbour. 
  

  

  I 
  think 
  I 
  have 
  now 
  said 
  enough 
  to 
  enable 
  every 
  one 
  to 
  

   form 
  a 
  fair 
  idea 
  of 
  what 
  Aden 
  is 
  like 
  geographically 
  and 
  

   climatically, 
  and 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  accompanying 
  map 
  

   (Plate 
  IV.) 
  will, 
  I 
  hope, 
  render 
  it 
  even 
  more 
  intelligible. 
  

  

  I 
  regret 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  add 
  so 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  knowledge 
  

   of 
  the 
  Avifauna 
  of 
  Aden, 
  but 
  my 
  duties 
  kept 
  me 
  employed 
  

   from 
  an 
  early 
  hour 
  in 
  the 
  morning 
  until 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  evening, 
  

   and 
  it 
  was 
  only 
  on 
  Sundays 
  that 
  I 
  could 
  get 
  out, 
  and 
  even 
  

   then 
  only 
  after 
  9 
  or 
  10 
  a.m. 
  I 
  could 
  obtain 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  assist- 
  

   ance 
  from 
  native 
  sources, 
  and 
  had 
  not 
  others 
  who 
  had 
  more 
  

   leisure 
  at 
  their 
  command 
  kindly 
  assisted 
  me^ 
  the 
  results 
  

   would 
  have 
  been 
  still 
  more 
  meagre. 
  

  

  