10 Hon. N. C. Rothscliild and Mr. A. F. R. Wollastou 
a very bright chestnut mantle. The female can only be 
distinguished from the same sex of the House-Sparrow by its 
smaller size. It was first described by Brehm (Naumannia, 
1856^ p. 377) from specimens obtained at Khartum; Emin 
Pasha subsequently found it at Lado, a long way further 
south. At Shendi it is exceedingly common, especially 
frequenting the patches of cultivation round the houses on 
the river- bank. In its habits it is very much like our House- 
Sparrow_, and its chirping note is quite indistinguishable. 
We found several nests of this bird in March : they 
were loose structures of dry grass and feathers, and were 
placed in crevices of the hard mud bank on the west side 
of the Nile. The eggs resemble those of other Sparrows, 
but are devoid of all gloss -, they are of a whitish-buff 
ground-colour, speckled all over with rusty brown and 
greyish brown, and having some underlying mauve spots ; 
the spots and patches form a vague zone about the thick end. 
They are considerably smaller than those of P. domesticus. 
The greatest number of eggs found in one nest was three. 
16. Passer LUTEUs (Licht.). 
90 6, 121 6, 154 6, 155 c^, 161 d, 84 d, 88 6y 
163 ? , 160 ? , 162 ? , 22 (?) juv., 354 (?). 
This beautiful yellow Sparrow was exceedingly abundant 
at Shendi, increasing in numbers towards the end of our stay. 
Flocks of fifty and upwards might be seen almost at any 
time flying northwards along the river-bank ; they were 
never seen to proceed in the other direction. They are very 
partial to water, and might sometimes be seen in enormous 
flocks bathing in the shallow pools of the river. 
17. Petroxia pyrgita (Heuglin). 
170 6, 171 $. 
Our two specimens are rather pale above, and are slightly 
larger than typical specimens from Abyssinia in the Tring 
Museum. 
This was a rare bird at Shendi ; besides the specimens 
obtained we saw no others. They were found at the top of 
a tall acacia-tree on the west bank of the Nile, and when the 
