3°S



Mr. T. H. Newman,



hundreds, they were either Blues or Dark Checkers, I regret that

I did not put down the colour of the croup whether white or blue,

but this is by no means an unfailing index by which to tell from

what wild ancestor the domestic form has been derived, for no

one I suppose will dispute that our Eondon Pigeons are derived

from Columba livia , yet the white croup is by no means in the

majority, nor even is the blue colour very prevalent. One word

about the world-renowned dogs, they are almost like small

wolves in appearance, are mostly of a brownish yellow colour,

though some are black and others pied. They lie about by

day in the most crowded streets expecting every one to get out

of their way and the small puppies play among the traffic, by

night they roam the streets of their particular district, making

them quite hideous with their howls and disputes.


On March 5th we reached Smyrna, a one-horse tram took

us to the railway station, whence we started for Ephesus. The

train runs along a picturesque valley, the mountains rising 011

cither side ; we passed some swampy pools where a number of

Coots (.Fulica atra) were disporting themselves. O11 arriving at

Ephesus the attention is at once taken by the ruins of the

splendid Roman aqueduct, built by Justinian : its pillars are

40 feet high built of marble blocks from ancient monuments, the

brick vaults between them in many cases have fallen away, thus

leaving isolated pillars which are crowned with magnificent nests

of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia). Unfortunately we were

just too early to see the birds themselves. The only one we

actually saw was on March 22nd, between Jerusalem and Jaffa,

where it was observed quietly feeding on the ground, but as I

was in a train at the time there was not much opportunity for

making a prolonged acquaintance.


While waiting for our train at Ephesus station I was

interested in watching a pair of very pretty little Eesser Kestrel

{Tinmmciilus cenchris). They were very tame and allowed me to

get within a short distance of them ; they seemed quite playful,

as every now and then they indulged in a short flight round the

building, returning to settle on the roof or telegraph wires ;

they were evidently a true pair, as the bars on the tail of the

female could be plainly seen. The wild flowers here were very



