SIX MONTHS’ BIRD COLLECTING IN EGYPT. 139 
Sparrow had had quite enough of it. A few days after- 
wards a pair had the impudence to settle on the sails.* 
I examined every specimen which was shot for the Short- 
toed Sparrow-Hawk, but we did not detect one. 
18. BLACK-WINGED KITE, Elanus ceruleus (Desfontaines) ; 
“Sakre Abiad,” i.e. White Hawk. 
These are very pretty Hawks, and fairly common. I 
have seen them hovering over a field just like a Kestrel, but 
a garden with good large trees is their favourite resort. 
They are generally to be seen in pairs. They were certainly 
commonest in Middle Egypt; none were seen, that I know 
of, south of Keneh. One shot on the 11th of May con- 
tained the remains of a small bird. 
19. YELLOW-BILLED KITE, Milvus parasiticus (Daudin) ; 
“ Hiddayer.” 
No village in Egypt would be complete without its 
Hiddayer. J think this Arabic name, which is in universal 
use there, is as strong evidence as you could well have that 
the Hebrew words dééh, dayyah, and ayydh, in the Old 
Testament, should be translated Kite. In this hot and 
sultry country, Kites perform the part of scavengers, and 
most useful are they in clearing away the carcass and the 
offal which the natives are too lazy to bury, and the putrid 
stench of which would be quite sufficient to breed a pesti- 
lence in hot weather. When the Diabeyha has been at 
anchor, and we have been skinning, I have seen them pass 
‘and repass within a few feet, attracted by the tempting 
* In Durham the Sparrow-Hawk is still common, and holds its own 
in spite of gamekeepers. At the mouth of the River Tees, at the fall 
of the year, ] have seen many cock Sparrowhawks skimming over the 
fields, but it was a very rare thing to observe a hen. 
