T»II OOLOaiBT 



109 



trel (E. cenchris) rather common, and 

 both were breeding, and feeding 

 young, in the cliffs and great temple 

 ruins all through the Nile valley. 

 Other hawks were seen but not deter- 

 mined with certainty. 



At night the hooting of the Eagle 

 Owl (Bubo ignavus) was heard from 

 cliffs and ruins, and must be rather 

 common. The Barn Owl (Aluco noc- 

 tua) was abundant everywhere. It is 

 largely diurnal, inhabits all the old 

 ruins and rocky cliffs, and was often 

 seen sunning itself at midday, even 

 in exposed situations. This is the 

 bird .pictured on old Grecian coins, 

 and by the Greeks was made sacred 

 to Pallas Atnene. Hence its generic 

 name. 



Some years ago noted naturalists 

 thought best to introduce the Little 

 Owl into England, and great num- 

 bers were imported yearly, with strict 

 orders to game keepers to protect 

 them. Like our English Sparrows 

 they increased beyond all expectation, 

 and spread out over all adjoining 

 counties, and they have become the 

 worst pest that ever tortured the soul 

 of game preservers. In that country 

 thousands of partridge and pheasants 

 are annually hatched under hens, and 

 these broods are put out in the copes 

 with the foster mother in a coop, but 

 which does not confine the young. So 

 with nothing to protect the downy 

 game birds, these diurnal owls take 

 daily or hourly toll to feed their own 

 young, until all are destroyed. 



And now in place of being a pleas- 

 ant addition to the bird life of the 

 British Isles, the Little Owl is de- 

 clared a nuisance and a scourge, and 

 a relentless war of extermination has 

 been declared against it. It is prob- 

 able however, that it will pretty nearly 

 hold its own against all efforts to re- 

 duce its numbers. 



I saw the Wryneck (Yunx torquilla) 



common during migration, while the 

 beautiful Hoopoe (Upupa epops) with 

 its banded wings and magnificent 

 crest, was conspicuous everywhere, 

 and they were feeding their young in 

 nests built in cracks and holes of the 

 ruined walls and towers of ancient 

 temples. This bird takes its name 

 from its rather musical notes. The 

 brilliant little European Kingfisher 

 (Alcedo ispida) may be seen all along 

 the river, and they are really abund- 

 ant in some places. Equally plentiful 

 was the much larger Black and White 

 Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), a most 

 beautiful daring bird, nearly the size 

 of ours. It was particularly numerous 

 about the First Cataract, and later, I 

 found it very common about the river 

 Jordan. There is a smaller bird than 

 the first, and of nearly the same color, 

 the Little Indian Kingfisher (Alced 

 bengalensis) found in Egypt, but I 

 failed to identify it. 



There are three Bee-eaters, two of 

 which are only seen during migration, 

 but the Little Green Bee-eater (Mer- 

 ops viridis) is resident, and very 

 abundant throughout Upper Egypt. 

 This is a beautiful bird, bright green 

 in color, with the two central tail 

 feathers much lengthened. It has the 

 habits of our flycatchers, and they 

 show great affection for their mates, 

 and they are seen sitting on telegraph 

 wires as close together as it is pos- 

 sible to get. 



The common Swallow (Hirundo 

 rustica) which abounds in Europe and 

 England, is not rare in most of Egypt, 

 but the Egyptian Swallow (Hirundo 

 savignii) is unusually numerous, and 

 I saw thousands every day. Both of 

 these birds have a long deeply forked 

 tail and are similarly colored above, 

 but the creamy under parts of the first 

 are a dark rich reddish-brown in the 

 last, and which is also an inch short- 

 er. 



