EGYPTIAN BIRDS 7 
birds know it. One of my favourite places of 
observation was at the Sacred Lake at Karnac. 
By the courtesy of Mr. Weigall, Chief Inspector 
of Antiquities, Upper Egypt, I was allowed to 
sleep in a disused building by the water-side, and 
by that means enjoyed opportunities, which fall to 
the lot of few, of studying bird life from midnight 
to early morning, and it is astonishing the number 
of birds that foregather to that quiet spot. Practi- 
cally all night through there were sounds of birds 
coming or going at intervals. The calling of Coots 
one to another were the commonest sounds during 
the darkest hours; but at about 8 a.M., when 
I thought I could discern a little light, I would 
distinctly hear the “scarpe scarpe” cry of Snipe. 
A little later the hooting of the Eagle Owl, whom 
I knew had his nest up on the top of one of the end 
columns of the great hall, and then gradually from 
this side, then from that, came an ever-increasing 
series of calls and pipings, and one could make 
out flocks of Duck disappearing over the ridge of 
sand and broken-up masses of masonry. Later, 
shadowy forms of Greenshank or Plover showed as 
they went paddling by some faintly lighted-up pool, 
till at last the sun was up, and crested Larks 
were running round the banks fearlessly, and blue- 
