427 



year 1842; and he adds (J. f. O. 1854, p. 277) that both he and others observed this species on 

 several occasions, on the left shore of the Ehine, near Eltfeld ; but as he remarks that they 

 pursued their prey uttering loud cries, Von Heuglin seems to doubt his statement ; for he says 

 the Courser is a peculiarly silent bird. A specimen is also recorded by Von Heuglin (J. f. O. 

 1869, p. 256) as having been killed near Eavensburg, in Suabia, on the 8th October, 1869 ; and 

 he says it is now in the Museum at Stuttgart. 



I have no information as to the occurrence of the present species in Belgium ; but Mr. 

 Labouchere informs me one has been shot in Holland, near Amsterdam. In France, Messrs. 

 Degland and Gerbe write (Orn. Eur. ii. p. 119), "it has been seen and killed in the neighbour- 

 hood of Earis, Dunkerque, Saint-Omer, Calais, Abbeville, Amiens, Dieppe, Fecamp, and Metz ;" 

 and it has occurred in the south of France, near Montpellier and Nimes. Frofessor Barboza du 

 Bocage includes it his list of the birds of Portugal with a query, and Colonel Irby did not meet 

 with it in Spain ; but Mr. Howard Saunders informs me that it was accidentally omitted from 

 his list published in ' The Ibis,' 1870, and that he knows of at least two specimens having been 

 obtained near Malaga ; it is, however, only an irregular visitant. In Italy it has occurred at 

 irregular intervals, during passage, in different parts of the country, and in Sicily it is said to be 

 met with, especially near Terranova and Girgenti ; but it does not appear to have occurred in 

 Sardinia. It is found at Malta ; but Mr. C. A. Wright says (Ibis, 1864, p. 140), " it is rare, 

 although few years pass without some being taken. I have seen specimens shot in March, April, 

 and May. It is said to appear also in July, August, and September." I find no record of its 

 occurrence in Greece or Turkey ; but Professor von Nordmann states that it occurs in Southern 

 Eussia, though rarely, and has been obtained in the Government of Ekaterinoslaf. He saw a flock 

 of six or eight individuals in Abasia in May 1836. It does not appear to be recorded from Asia 

 Minor; but Canon Tristram says (Ibis, 1868, p. 322) that he occasionally met with it on the 

 coast of Palestine. In the deserts of North Africa it is resident, but, so far as I can ascertain, it 

 cannot be considered numerous in any locality. Captain Shelley writes (B. of Egypt, p. 229) as 

 follows: — "This species, although a resident, is not very abundant in either Egypt or Nubia. It 

 is a desert-bird, preferring the sandy wastes to the more cultivated parts, and is generally to be 

 met with in small flocks, probably consisting of the last year's brood. I myself only found it on 

 one occasion, on the 4th cf February, opposite Aboo-fayda, where I had a most exciting chase, as 

 I had recognized the birds and was anxious to procure a specimen. They were four in number, 

 and very shy; they, however, preferred running to flying, never remaining long on the wing. 

 Finding that I could not stalk them in the ordinary way, I drove them towards a bush, and then 

 making a long round, got up to that piece of covert and shot one and broke the leg of a second. 

 This wounded bird detained the other two, and enabled me to procure one of them. The 

 wounded one was now alone, and so shy that I had great difficulty in procuring it, which I 

 finally succeeded in doing by walking on one side instead of directly towards it, when it crouched 

 on the sand, hoping to be passed unobserved ; and thus after an hour's pursuit, I obtained my 

 third specimen." Von Heuglin remarks that in North-east Africa it is certainly a resident, and 

 never migrates. He met with it in Arabia Petrsea, on the coasts of the Eed Sea, in Egypt, 

 Nubia, and in North-eastern Kordofan. Eiippell says that it is numerous in Abyssinia, which 

 statement Von Heuglin doubts, and says that no one acquainted with its habits would look for it 



