376 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 92 



trips on shore were taken than on other days, yet for the 

 three days combined the total number of species seen was 

 only thirty-five. The poorest day was in Nubia, when the 

 daylig'ht run of our steamer was from Wadi Haifa to Ko- 

 rosko; the five individual birds seen that day were two Tur- 

 tledoves, a Raven, an Egyptian Vulture, and a Parasitic Kite. 

 This Kite is worthy of special mention, as it and its mate 

 were the only Kites seen in Nubia. On the passage up- 

 stream they were seen visiting a precipitous cliff that over- 

 hung the river a few miles above Derr, their behavior indi- 

 cating that they "had a nest there, and one was found there 

 as we returned. The day under consideration was the only 

 one, either in Egypt or Nubia, when the White Wagtail 

 failed to be seen. 



The Parasitic Kite was fairly abundant along the Nile to 

 the Eirst Cataract, above which the only birds seen were 

 those near Derr. It was seen above the water most fre- 

 quently and at the boat-landing, where, like Gulls, it snatched 

 from the water the food thrown overboard. My records for 

 the Hooded Crow stop abruptly at the First Cataract. The 

 seemingly correct explanation for this is that the river higher 

 up in its present condition offers no inducement to Kites and 

 Crows in their role of scavengers. The only representative 

 of the Corvus family seen between the two cataracts were 

 a few Brown-necked Ravens (Corz'tts umbrimis), a species 

 partial to deserts and rocky districts. 



It was at Wadi Haifa, in the Sudan, that the largest num- 

 bers of Egyptian Vultures were seen in numerous small 

 groups. In all, eighty-eight were counted, most of them on 

 one walk of about a mile into the desert back of the town, 

 where the apparent attractions were the dumping grounds 

 for refuse matter. This species was seen every day in Nu- 

 bia, and on a trifle more than half of the days in Egypt. Its 

 non-appearance near the coast was probably due to its pref- 

 erence for a drier climate, such as is found farther in the 

 interior. The Black Vulture {Ignitus iiiojiarcJiiis) was seen 

 on two occasions, and the Grift'on Vulture (Gyfs fnh'iis) on 



