THE BIRDS OF LOWER EGYPT. 53 
of the suburbs of the city I estimated one evening that there 
were several hundreds on the wing at once. On my arrival in 
Cairo (April 28th) young were flying; one adult with enlarged 
ovary, obtained in the Giza Gardens, had the bill dark horn- 
colour instead of yellow, though plenty were seen in the same 
place with the bill the latter colour. Mr. Nicoll has suggested 
(‘ Ibis,’ October, 1909, p. 680) that these specimens are in 
ill-health, but it seems to me that, as the chief distinguishing 
_ character between M. migrans egyptius and M. migrans migrans 
is the colour of the bill and iris, it is possible that both forms 
occur in Egypt; and, indeed, A. L. Adams (‘ Ibis,’ 1864, 
pp. 9-10) noted that both forms were found there, and he 
thought that migrans was the commoner up as far as the First 
Cataract, while at Edfoo he saw both. With this distribution 
8. S. Allen (‘ Ibis,’ 1864, pp. 234-5) did not agree, and he con- 
sidered M. migrans (ater) to be the commoner species in the 
Nile Valley above Cairo; but in the Delta the reverse to be 
the case, and here he could nut find one migrans, while round 
Cairo the numbers were equally divided. Both agree that young 
of both species are easily confounded. Cavendish Taylor (‘ Ibis,’ 
1867, p. 53) records that he never saw an adult migrans, and all 
birds which he considered to be adult were egyptius, but he did 
not seem certain as to which species immature birds belonged. 
Shelley, too (‘ Ibis,’ 1871), did not meet with migrans for certain. 
Soit seems to me still a doubtful question as to whether there 
are—at all events, round Cairo—two closely allied forms, 
M.m. migrans and M. m. egyptius, breeding side by side, and 
whether the real explanation of these differences of opinion is 
not to be found in the suggestion that egyptius does not get the 
yellow bill until the bird is two years old; I am certain, at least, 
that the bird I obtained was at least one year old, and had bred. 
Observations on captivity birds of known age might throw some 
light on the question. 
The distribution of the Kite in Egypt, too, wants carefully 
working out. For some reason there appears to be a limitation 
northwards of its range, such as noticed in the case of the 
Hooded Crow, for going from Cairo to Alexandria by rail I saw 
no Kites after leaving Choubri-el-Maruba, nor did I see any 
round Alexandria, though I believe it is said to be found very 
