1920.] On the Birds of Southern Palestine. 195 



siructures, still with the eggs, coukl be seen two feet under 

 water on 11. yii. 



Podiceps ruiicollis. 



P. r. capensis (Salvad.). ( = alh)pennis.) 

 Resident at Khushdil and breeding freely. Over one 

 Iiundred and fifty bred there in 11)113, and in 1914 I found 

 over a hundred nests on 20. vi., mostly containing three eggs ; 

 several had four, one seven, !ind one six. In nearly every 

 case the eggs were concealed by weeds. The nests were 

 made of weed foliage and not stalks, and never measured 

 over 12 inches across the top. 



When the previous species was flooded out this Grebe 

 scored by having its nest floating, and on ll.vii. all eggs 

 were hatched except in two cases. 



Though this species occurs at Khushdil in large numbers 

 it is probable many go south at the approach of cold 

 weather, for they did not seem so numerous in w'inter as 

 they had been after the young were hatched. 



IV. — Notes on the Birds of Southern Palestine. 

 By Colonel R. Meinertzhagen, M.B.O.U. 



(Plate II.— Map.) 



The following paper is based on a collection made by Colonel 

 Lord W. Perc}^ Major Maurice Portal, and myself from May 

 1917 to March 1919, though considerable intervals occurred 

 when, for various reasons, no work could be done. The 

 bulk of the collection was made at Rafa in the autumn of 

 1917 and round Ranileh in 1918, whilst Major Portal visited 

 Mount Carmel, the Jordan Valley, and several spots on the 

 Judsean highlands. 



A few additions to our notes have been borrowed from 

 Major Sladen's paper in ' The Ibis ' of April 1919, and I 

 have made free use of some valuable information from 

 Brig.- Gen. Clarke. 



We owe much to the kindness of Mr. M. J. Nicoll, of the 



o2 



