. Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile valley . e there neverwas a time known when Night Herons did not-frequent this spot. There is a certain seat onthe front where one enters the hotel grounds,that is under some Lebekh trees these Heronslove, and I was early in the season horrified tohear that the order had gone out to shoot allthose that were there, as they sometimes soiledthe monstrous hats that the ladies were appealed in vain to the management—Theyhad had so many complaints, etc.—it must be,and was. I never dared ask how many wereshot; and I really do not see why t
. Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile valley . e there neverwas a time known when Night Herons did not-frequent this spot. There is a certain seat onthe front where one enters the hotel grounds,that is under some Lebekh trees these Heronslove, and I was early in the season horrified tohear that the order had gone out to shoot allthose that were there, as they sometimes soiledthe monstrous hats that the ladies were appealed in vain to the management—Theyhad had so many complaints, etc.—it must be,and was. I never dared ask how many wereshot; and I really do not see why the ladies couldnot take their hats off, or else put up , just because of womens hats, an historiccolony of these interesting birds in a very re-markable situation has been in danger of beingdriven away. This Heron is not nearly so bigas our own familiar bird, and is rather squat anddumpy in shape, but he is a fascinating, ratherweird-looking creature. Occasionally, one or twostray as far as Great Britain; but here in Egypt it NIGHT HERON. THE NIGHT HERON 161 is to be met with, where it estabUshes a colony, inquite large numbers, and, in the report I havefrequently referred to on wild birds that visitthe Giza Zoological Gardens, it is stated thatNight Herons begin to arrive during August,winter here, and leave during the spring few individuals, however, are seen throughoutthe summer. The number of these birds, whichspend the daytime in the gardens, has greatlyincreased during the last ten years. 108 werecounted on January 15, 1900; 360 on December11, 1902. At present it is impossible to countthem. All day long it sits moped up, out of the directrays of the sun, in the centre of a mass of over-hanging foliage, and only wakes up when mostother birds are just falling to sleep. It feeds onfish, frogs, and even water-beetles and insects. 21 THE FLAMINGO Phoenicopterus antiquorum Arabic, Bashm-oush On the head, neck, and body, in the adult, a delicatecoral
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