of the Desert of Sinai and of the Holy Land. 109 
yards from each other. I will not dwell on our journey to 
Ismai'lia; but seldom have I seen so many Ducks of all kinds 
(but principally Fuligula ferina , F. cristata, and Rhynchaspis 
elypeata) as we observed from the railway-carriage, congre¬ 
gated on some large pieces of water a little way beyond Za- 
gazig, while the common Mallard and Anas crecca were there 
in vast flocks, and seemed little disturbed by the passing train. 
At Ismai'lia, and on the canal itself near that place, and also 
in the neighbourhood of the town generally, I was much 
struck with the entire absence of any animal life; for, with the 
exception of small sand-lizards and a Kite, we saw nothing 
whatever, excepting one bird, which simply swarmed on the 
banks of the ee sweet-water canal,” namely Motacilla alba. 
Probably they were about to migrate; for this bird, though 
very common throughout the country in winter, lessens its 
numbers greatly towards spring. On the following day we 
went up the Suez Canal in a small steamer; and about half¬ 
way to Port Said a heavy hailstorm came on; and as flock 
after flock of wild fowl scudded away over head as the storm 
drove them from their snug quarters on Lake Menzaleh, we 
could almost fancy ourselves back in old England on a raw 
winter’s day; for it became very cold, and it was only the oc¬ 
casional companies of Pelicans or Flamingos that passed by 
our boat, that made us remember that we were sojourning 
in a foreign land. 
On the 19th I found the harbour of Port Said swarming 
with the Gulls and Terns. The most noticeable were Sterna 
caspia , S. cantiaca in very small numbers, S. media , one ex¬ 
ample of S. hergii, Larus fuscus , L. leueophceus , and L. ridi- 
hundus. I saw several pairs of that splendid Gull, Larus 
ichthyaetus , and killed one very good specimen. One of the 
Caspian Terns that I shot, soon after daylight, from the break¬ 
water, very nearly cost me dear. It fell into the sea, but 
only about twenty yards from land; and being a good speci¬ 
men, I, anxious to secure it, and having no dog or boat, di¬ 
vested myself quickly of my clothes, and was about to clamber 
down the stone piers previously to plunging in for my bird, 
when a big black fin appeared for a moment above the surface 
