SIX MONTHS’ BIRD COLLECTING IN EGYPT. 177 
120. THE ROOK, Corvus frugilegus, Linn. 
This was long ago ascertained to be Egyptian by Hemp- 
rich and Ehrenberg. I frequently saw flocks of them in the 
Delta—once a very large flock. On the 13th of February, 
as I was standing on the deck of the Diabeyha, I saw a lot 
of them crossing over the river, and shot two from where 
I stood. One was a glossy old bird, his visage was as 
shaven as any Rook’s I ever saw; the other was a younger 
one which had kept its nasal bristles. There is nothing to 
call for remark in this. It is well known that in every 
Rookery a few keep the facial bristles until long after 
Christmas. I have shot a fine old glossy bird. with them on 
the 1st of March in England. 
121. WRYNECK, Fynx torquilla, Linn. 
I shot two in Upper Egypt in April, but the bird is not 
common. 
122, SCHIMPERS’ PIGEON, Columba schimpert, Bp. 
123. Rock DovE, Columba livia, Linn. ; 
“Hamam agrak.” 
I bracket these two together, as I could not draw any 
line between them. At the same time it must not be sup- 
posed that they are equally common, for Schimper’s quite 
outnumbers the other. Indeed Iam not sure that I saw 
any Rock Doves which were quite like British ones. 
The pigeon villages on the Nile are indeed a sight. The 
largest is at Bellianeh, near Girgeh. These pigeons’ habita- 
tions differ very much in construction and shape. Some- 
times they are funny little towers of brick and mortar, but 
more often they are the upper stories of the houses of the 
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