Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/462

 454 EGRET ing to Selby, the bill is black or dark brown, yellow at the base and about the nostrils, and the legs are almost black. It is common in southern Europe, but comparatively rare in tbe northern and central parts ; the white herons .f Asia are believed to In- of this species. The Great White Egret (Ardea alba), and Little Egret (A. garzetta). little European egret (A. garzetta, Linn.) is about 22 in. long from bill to end of tail ; the plumage is white ; from the hind head spring two narrow feathers 4 in. long; the plumes of the back are elongated ; the bill and tarsi are black ; the tarsus is 4 in. long. This species is Reddish Egret (Ardea rufa). confined to the eastern hemisphere, being most abundant in southern Europe, Greece, and northern Africa ; it occasionally wanders as far as England. The buff-backed egret (A. Coro- manda, Bodd.) is about 20 in. long, the bill 2 in. and orange yellow : the plumage is white, EGYPT except the top of the head and front neck, which are buff, becoming browner as the bird grows older; it is very generally distributed over Asia. The reddish egret (A. [demi-egretta] rufa, Bodd.), of which Peale's egret is believed to be the young, is about 31 in. long, and 46 in extent of wings ; the pale bill has a black tip ; the iris is white ; the feathers of the head and neck are loose and pendent, of a light reddish brown tinged with lilac, fading into brownish white at the tips; the back and wings grayish blue; long feathers of the back yellowish- tipped; pale grayish blue below. It seems never to go far from the Florida keys, except westward along the gulf of Mexico; it is a plump and graceful bird, and an easy and high flier; it rarely associates with other species; it is probably strictly marine. The nests are made by the middle of April ; the eggs are three, of a pale sea-green, and are excellent food. EGYPT (Gr. Al-yvTrrog ; Lat. ^Egyptm; Heb. Mitzraim ; Coptic, Khami or Kemi a depen- dency of the Turkish empire in N. E. Africa, bounded N. by the Mediterranean, and E. by the Red sea and a direct line from Suez to El-Arish, a seaport town on the Mediterranean. Egypt proper extends S. to the first cataract of the Nile, between Asswan and Philae, lat. 24 5' N., and W. beyond the oases of the Libyan desert to the frontier of Barca. The area is estimated in an annual publication of the Egyp- tian government, Le guide general (TEgypte (Alexandria, 1870), at 216,000 sq. m. But the rule of the viceroy has of late also been established over an extensive region to the south, officially called Soudan, which comprises Lower Nubia, Sennaar, Dongola, Taka, Fazo- glu, Kordofan, the provinces of the White Nile, and Khartoom, and since 1865 also the coasts of the Red sea down to and inclusive of the seaport town of Massowah, lat. 15 34' N. Inclusive of this territory, the area of the Egyptian empire was in 1872 estimated by R6gny at 730,000 sq. m. Egyptian rule was recently extended by Sir Samuel Baker over a vast territory reaching south to the equator. With the exception of a few small rivers that empty into the Red sea, the Nile is the main irrigator of the country. The White and Blue Nile unite near the city of Khartoom, forming the Nile proper, which assumes a winding N. E. course through Nubia, and receives near El-Damer the Atbara, coming from the south- east. It flows thence in a N. N. W. direction till it reaches El-Gooba, where it turns abruptly S. W., enclosing the northern point of the Ba- yuda desert. At Ambukol it resumes its N. N. W. course, descends the cataract near Haf- fir, turns N. N. E., and enters Egypt proper at the island of Philae near Asswan, the ancient Syene, where it descends the famous cataracts, and flows thence unbroken by falls or rapids, and not augmented even by a rivulet, till it reaches the Mediterranean. From the cata- racts the river, whose general breadth is about half a mile, runs for 600 m. through a valley