Rev. H. B. Tristram on the Ornithology of Palestine. 69 
of our arrival, ignorant of the existence of C. umbrinus, we were 
much perplexed by the new note, but were soon satisfied that we 
had come upon an additional species. We used to watch this 
great colony of Corvince as, every morning at daybreak, they 
passed in long lines over our tents to the northward, the Rooks 
in solid phalanx leading the way, and the Ravens in loose order 
bringing up the rear, generally far out of shot. Before retiring 
for the night, popular assemblies of the most uproarious cha¬ 
racter were held in the trees of Mount Olivet and the Kedron ; 
and not till after sunset did they withdraw in silence, mingled 
indiscriminately, to their safe roosting-places in the sanctuary. 
On a wet day—and there was some deplorable weather at Jeru¬ 
salem—the Rooks would pertinaciously set out on their travels; 
but the Ravens staid at home, sitting about by twos and threes 
among the olive trees, generally in silence, but ever and anon, 
ejaculating a lugubrious remark on the weather, or warning 
from their neighbourhood the draggled Jays, whose soft plumage 
was no better protection than a lady's evening muslin in such a 
down-pour. Still they kept a sharp look-out, and allowed no 
near approach on our part. We found that our only chance of 
obtaining specimens was by shooting them as they came to roost 
at night; but the Moslems look upon all birds which resort to 
holy places as sacred, and we were warned by the Consul that 
firing at them near the Mosque or in the Kedron valley might be 
deemed sacrilege and provoke an attack by the guardians of the 
Haram, aided by the boys always on the look-out for the chance 
of a melee with Christian dogs. My friends determined however 
to run the risk, and, having carefully laid their plans, stationed 
themselves before sunset. in convenient hiding-places near the 
walls, when, as the birds crossed over from the Mount of Olives 
towards the city, at a given signal they fired simultaneously, 
and, hastily gathering up the spoils, had retreated out of reach and 
were hurrying to the tents before an alarm could be raised, as 
fortunately the gates of the city were already locked. The dis¬ 
charge of ten barrels had brought down fourteen specimens, of 
five species— C. corax, C. umbrinus (six specimens), C. agricola , 
C. cornix, and C. monedula. The same stratagem was repeated 
with almost equal success the next evening; but on the third 
