On Birds from the Vicinity of Lake Menzalah. 113 



resembles a Minivet's nest, but is broader and less ornate, 

 though equally hard to find. Occasionally, though rarely, the 

 nest is built in the forked twig of a ' pipul' (Ficus religiosa), 

 but I have only obtained one thus placed, which I feel sure 

 was that of a pair which I had previously robbed in a 

 Mimosa tree close by." 



A pair of eggs in my collection, taken by Mr. Kemp, are 

 exactly like those of the Common Iora. They are the only 

 specimens that I have seen, but others have been taken by 

 two or three collectors, all of whom describe the nest and 

 eggs as being similar to those of ^Fgithina typhia. 



95. Cephalopyrus flammiceps. 

 Blanford, F. B. Ind. i. p. 247. 



The eggs of this little bird have now often been taken and 

 are well known. In colour they are pure unspotted blue 

 and very like those of Zoster ops (White-eye), but decidedly 

 darker, while they are narrower ovals. The nest is placed in 

 a tiny hole of some tree, and Dr. Coltart has found it in a 



dead bamboo. 



[To be continued.] 



VI. — On a small Collection of Birds from the Vicinity of 

 Lake Menzalah , in the Delta of Egypt. By W. L. S. 

 Loat, F.Z.S. 



During the spring of 1903 I spent a couple of months in 

 collecting birds at the north-west corner of Lake Menzalah, 

 staying at a small fishing-village called Sheik Shuttah, 

 about five miles from Damietta. 



Lake Menzalah, the largest of the four great lakes of 

 Lower Egypt, is situated in the extreme north-east corner 

 of the Delta and close to Port Said. The water is for 

 the most part brackish, except at those points where fresh 

 Avater enters the lake, chiefly during the rise of the Nile. 

 The land in the vicinity of the village varies a good deal in 

 character. The shore of the Lake is fiat and more or less 



SER. VIII. — VOL. VI. I 



