AVES. 219 



tinctly noticed. It is a desert species, found in Nubia ; also Arabia and 

 Persia. 



^Cinnyris Osecs, Bonap. Mr. Armstrong, who was with me at El 

 Tdba, near 'Akabah, saw a pair of these birds amongst the acacia bushes 

 so abundant along the east side of the 'Arabah near that place. I myself 

 heard a note there which I afterwards recognised as belonging to this 

 species at the Ghor. It is interesting to extend the range of this bird 

 nearly to 'Akabah, along the same valley southward as the hopping- 

 thrush, and points out the direction perhaps by which the ancestral species 

 originally spread to Palestine to habitats now almost isolated by changed 

 circumstances. The sunbird delights in the long tubular flowers of the 

 showy Loranthus acacics, which perhaps requires its visits for cross- 

 fertilization. A specimen shot by Dr. Hull in the Gh6r es Safieh had its 

 beak covered with the pollen. At El Tiba the loranthus is abundant, as 

 also at the Ghor ; and at the latter place acacia trees, tenanted by this 

 parasite, were more favoured by these birds, which were seen to probe 

 their flowers. The sunbird was seen at Jericho ; and Dr. Port, of Beirut, 

 informed me that they had visited his garden more than one year, and 

 had on one occasion nested there. Beirut to 'Akabah would define its 

 limited range, so far as yet known. Burton, however, saw sunbirds — 

 almost certainly this species — scattered throughout Midian, especially in 

 the Hisma country, in latitude 27°. 



Carduelis elegans, Steph, Goldfinch. Frequent in the open country 

 near Jerusalem, Gaza, and Jaffa. 



^Passer hispaniolensis, Temn. Marsh-sparrow. First seen at Wady 

 Hessi and 'Akabah. In large flocks along Wddy 'Arabah -ind at the 

 Gh6r. 



P. domesticus, Linn. Common sparrow. Alexandria, Gaza, and other 

 tQwns. In large flocks in the desert a day's ride east of Gaza. 



P. moabiticus, Tristram. Tristram's sparrow. I saw this species on 

 more than one occasion in small flocks close to the edge of the Dead 

 Sea. I never succeeded in getting a shot ; but from its small size, I felt 

 sure I was looking at this most local species, which I was familiar with 

 from Canon Tristram's account in the ' Land of Israel.' It seemed fond 



28—2 



