Mr. E. Cavendish Taylor on Bh'ds of Egypt. 371 
perched on the low bushes on the railway embankment^ and 
were so tame that they barely moved as the train passed. I 
saw them nowhere else except between the above-named 
stations. 
This is not a common species in Egyptian collections. 
Muscicapa atricapilla^ Linn. Pied Flycatcher. 
Muscicapa collaris^ Bechst. Collared Flycatcher. 
Both these species tolerably common all about Cairo from 
March 20 to April 15. 
Saxicola albicollis (Vieillot). Eared Chat. 
I shot and skinned at Halouan^ on March 29, an individual 
of this species that ought to have been a female; for it was in 
exactly the plumage figured and described by Mr. Dresser as 
the adult female of this Chat. Great was my surprise when, 
on dissection, it proved to be a male. Have the sexual 
distinctions of the Chats been thoroughly elucidated ? 
Sylvia rueppelli, Temm. BuppelFs Warbler. 
Nothing surprises me so much as the fact that Mr. Gurney 
did not meet with this species. I found it extremely common 
all about Cairo all the time I was there, i. e. from March 20 
to April 15. At the Pyramids it was abundant, creeping 
about among the heaps of huge stones, and when disturbed 
taking refuge in the crevices, just like a Chat {Saxicola) 
would do. Indeed the desert around the Pyramids would 
seem altogether more suited for Chats than for Warblers; and 
I was surprised to see this species so plentiful there. I also 
found it in considerable numbers between Abbassieh and 
Heliopolis, creeping about among low bushes and hedges. I 
shot several both at the Pyramids and also here. 
Passer salicicola (Vieillot). Spanish Sparrow. 
Captain Shelley says Birds of Egypt,^ page 149) that he 
never met with this species later than the beginning of 
February; and Mr. Gurney seems to have found it rather 
rare. On the contrary, I found it in great numbers all about 
Cairo up to the date of my departure from that place on the 
16th of April, which leads me to the conclusion that it re- 
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