50 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
cultivated desert on the northern shore of Lake Mariotis, and 
on an island in the lake on May 15th and 18th. The males 
were in full song and soaring, but neither the song nor the flight 
was so sustained as in Alauda arvensis. From the state of the 
sexual organs and the incubation patches on the females obtained 
I infer that this subspecies was breeding there. Dr. Hartert 
described this form from birds obtained by Mr. M. J. Nicoll in 
January, 1908, at Damietta (Bull. B.O.C. vol. xxv. p.9), and he 
there describes the bill as ‘‘a dark horn-grey, almost blackish in 
the skin.”’ This may be so in winter plumage, but the birds I 
obtained in the breeding season all had the bill orange-yellow, 
with a blackish tip; in the dried skin the colour is pale horn, 
there being no trace of orange-yellow left. The breeding range 
of this subspecies is as yet undefined, but the birds I obtained 
are the first to be recorded from a breeding quarter. 
42. Sturnus vulgaris, subsp. ?—Starlings had evidently left 
Egypt by the end of April. Jonly saw two birds on an island in 
Lake Mariotis ; they were quite unapproachable. 
43. Corvus cornix cornix, Linn.—Hixceedingly common round 
Cairo, and young were on the wing early in May. In the Giza 
Gardens it is too numerous. I agree with Mr. M. J. Nicoll 
(‘Ibis,’ July, 1909, p. 481) that the Egyptian Hooded Crow is 
not separable from the Northern European form. ‘The dis- 
tribution of this species in Egypt wants further investigation. 
In going by rail from Cairo to Alexandria one sees ‘‘ Hoodies ” 
in quantities at first, but the number soon falls off, and after 
passing Teh-el-Barud none were seen. This apparent limitation 
of the range northwards is very curious, as the character of the 
country does not seem to alter, though it is worth noting that 
Teh-el-Barud is near where the railway line leaves the Nile, and 
it is possible that the river has some influence on the distri- 
bution. Capt. Flower tells me he has independently noticed 
this curious distribution. Round Alexandria this species was 
not seen. Mr. Cavendish Taylor (‘ Ibis,’ 1891, p. 473) also 
remarks on its absence there, and in the ‘ Ibis,’ 1867, he says 
that, since there are no trees at Suez, there are no Hooded Crows ; 
this explanation, however, would not apply to Alexandria. 
44. C. corax umbrinus, Sund. — Seen in the desert near — 
Helouan on May 7th, on which date young were on the wing, 
