BIRDS SEEN IN EGYPT. 209 



Shovelers. On an island in the same place a great liock of 

 Night-Herons (Nycticorax griseus) roosted thickly in the trees, a 

 few occasionally flapping about. About half were in mature 

 plumage, and very conspicuous. They leave the Gardens in 

 May, and return in August with their young, but some come 

 sometimes and look at the place in between. 



Several minute Warblers were catching insects on the 

 shrivelled lotus plants, but Willow- Warblers (Phylloscopus tro- 

 chilus) were the only ones I could name. These I often saw on 

 shrubs in Cairo gardens. The Oriental Swallow (Hirundo sav- 

 ignii) was always to be seen on Gezireh, and round the Fayum 

 lake there were thousands of them. In the desert beyond the 

 Mokattam Hills I saw a few pairs of the inconspicuous Desert 

 Lark {Ammomanes deserti). The Pied Wheatear (Saxicola lugens) 

 I saw in several spots in the desert, but it was never abundant. 

 The Desert Wheatear (S. deserti) I only saw once, at Gizeh. In 

 the fields west of Bulak Dakrur, where I went with Snipe- 

 shooters, I added to my list the Bluethroat (white-spotted variety) 

 (Cyanecula ivolji), a skulking bird ; one was in song, a pretty 

 warble. The Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus spinosus) was 

 common, but I never saw large flocks as I did of the Lapwing 

 (Vanellus vidgaris). I saw also the Green Sandpiper {Totanus 

 ochropus) (seen again in the Fayum), the Southern Little Owl 

 {Athene glaux) (frequent also up the Nile), a Short-eared Owl 

 (Asio accipitrinus) , the Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida), and a party 

 of Little Egrets {Ardea garzetta). The Little Egrets I saw again 

 near Dendera, unmistakable with their black legs and feet and 

 yellow soles. 



Snipe {Gallinago coelestis) were plentiful in the still swampy 

 cotton fields, and we saw many Teal. On the way home a large 

 flock of Pelicans passed over. These and a pair near Ayat, 

 which were of the Pioseate species (Pelecanus onocrotalus), were 

 the only ones I saw. They must be decreasing in numbers. 

 Shooting is forbidden from the deck of Cook's steamers, but 

 visitors to an hotel at Assuan are invited to join " la chasse aux 

 Herons et aux Pelicans," which is organized once a week. At 

 Medina, in the province of the Fayum, there were pools with 

 Waders, and among them the Little Ringed Plover (^Egialitis 

 curonica) and the Marsh Sandpiper (Totanus stagnatilis). Hoopoes 



