98 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
On the east bank are the temple ruins, and above that the 
house of the archeologists who are now excavating them. The 
eaves of the house had unfortunately provided nesting-places 
for several pairs of Sparrows (Passer domesticus). At night the 
roof was the haunt of Scops Owl (Scops giu), whose melancholy 
note was to be heard at dusk on most evenings. 
But for some patches of ploughed land and some small 
plantations of Lombardy poplars, the country immediately 
round Sardis is not cultivated. There is plenty of scrub 
covering the hills, composed chiefly of an evergreen oak, the 
Paliurus thorn, and Vitex Agnus-castus. Plane trees grow to a 
fair size in the lower valleys, and higher up Pinus Halepensis 
makes little woods, enlivened by small numbers of Blue Tits 
(Parus coeruleus). 
Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) were abundant everywhere; I 
should say I saw more individuals of that species than of any 
other. Magpies (Pica rustica) were equally common in the 
lower fields and on the hillsides. Crows (Corvus corone) were 
not uncommon, the Grey Crow (C. cornix) much rarer. Hegypt- 
ian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) were to be seen every day 
circling over the Acropolis, east of us, and often settling a 
hundred yards from the house. I had an excellent sight of — 
eight Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) sitting in a row above the 
Tombs hill. There were days when numbers of large birds of 
prey dotted the sky, but at too great a height for identification. 
March 16th.— Several Chaffinches (Fringilla celebs) in the 
Pactolus wood. Noisy, but not singing. They were there for 
about a week and then entirely disappeared. Some Goldfinches 
(Carduelis elegans), singing, stayed several days. On April 12th, 
after a rainy morning, I found the copse full of Goldfinches ; 
the twittering was deafening. They moved on that evening and 
were the last that I saw. 
March 19th.—Riding to the Sulphur Baths at Alladejem up 
the valley of the Tabakchai, we disturbed a pair of Little Owls 
(Athene glaux) in the Byzantine ruins. Later I saw several 
more there, and have no doubt they nest in the numerous and 
convenient holes. A water-course diverted from the Tabakchai 
was thickly fringed with Water-Tortoises (Clemmys caspica). 
Purple, scarlet, and white anemones (A. coronaria) covered the 
