379 
1921 .] Birds of Lower Egypt. 
month. It is a remarkable thing that it does not remain 
to breed at Abu Zabaal or Inchas, where suitable ground 
is abundant, for it breeds nearer the coast, and is numerous 
in the nesting-season on the shores of Lake Qarun in the 
Fayum Province. In the latter locality I found five nests 
between the 18th and 21st of March, 1917. Two eggs are 
a full clutch, and the bird always covers the eggs prior to 
leaving them. They are completely covered up and very 
difficult to find, but I discovered tracking the bird in the 
sand quite a good plan, for they always run away when 
danger approaches. I shot a female from the nest, and 
proved by a post-mortem that two was a full clutch. Some¬ 
times the eggs are laid near to the water’s edge, but more 
frequently a hundred yards or more from the nearest water, 
and always quite in the open. By watching through a pair 
of field-glasses from a distance, one can see the bird rapidly 
scratching the sand or dry mud over the eggs when they are 
alarmed ; they then casually stroll off. We did not meet 
with this species in the Wadi Natrun in May 1918. 
Major F. W. Borman was able to confirm my observations 
in 1918, when he took three clutches of eggs at Sidi Salem 
on 29 May. Thus it would appear that this bird is at least 
double-brooded. 
[I took one fresh egg on waste ground near Lake Qarfin 
on 27 March, 1910. I 11 South Africa, where I found several 
nests, my observations agree with Mr. Raw’s, but if one 
rode near the nest the bird, instead of running away, stood 
up over the eggs and flapped her wings, and on dismounting 
pecked at a friend’s finger. This procedure is to drive off 
sheep and goats, and if a flock of goats were driven over the 
nesting-ground I believe every nest could be found.—R. S.] 
192. Charadrius mongolus geoffroyi. Geoffroy’s Plover. 
A rare bird at Abu Zabaal. I only met with one bird, 
which I shot on 1 August, 1917. It was a bird of the year, 
and was feeding with some Cream-coloured Coursers on the 
desert scrub. Fairly numerous on the coast in September 
1916. 
