SIX MONTHS’ BIRD COLLECTING IN EGYPT. 165 
of the Warblers, Whether any stop north of Thebes during 
the winter I cannot say. We first met with them on the 
1st of March at Minieh, and as we progressed further south 
they seemed to get commoner every day, until at Assouan 
they literally swarmed. I shot one in which the feathers of 
the crown were stained by something it had been feeding 
upon, bright purple.* 
88. GREATER WHITETHROAT, Sylvia rufa (Bodd). 
I shot one on the 14th of April near Karnac. It is very . 
much rarer than the Lesser Whitethroat, the above being 
the only specimen we obtained. 
89. LONG-TAILED DryMaca, Drymeca gracilis (Rupp). 
I think this minute species is commonest at the Faioum, 
where I obtained the egg, but it is not nearly so common 
on the Nile as the Fantail. I saw some on a little island 
on Jake Menzaleh, which must have made a long flight to 
get there. It is very comical to see the young birds which 
have no tails. 
90. FANTAIL WARBLER, Cisticola schenicola (Bp.). 
Resident and common in every field. When frightened 
it rises angrily into the air, going straight up with its jerk- 
ing flight, and uttering a loud note forso smalla bird. I 
® The Lesser Whitethroat is decidedly common near London. In 
the beginning of September I have seen nearly fifty alive in a single 
shop, all of which had been caught in the vicinity of the metropolis. 
Further north it is rarer. In Durham, for instance, though some may 
be met with at Darlington, it is so uncommon at Teesmouth that I 
never shot but one there, : 
