N0VITATB3 ZOOLOGICAE XXII. 1915. 61 



IN ALGERIA, 1914 



A JOURNEY TO THE M'ZAB COUNTRY AND OVER THE CENTRAL 



HIGH PLATEAUS. 



By ERNST HARTERT, Ph.D. 



(Plates L, 11.) 



I. NARRATIVE. 



IN the mouth of March 1914 Mr. Rothschild and I set out for our sixth visit to 

 study the fauna of Algeria and the desert beyond. After a month's stay at dear 

 old Biskra, spent not unprofitably in collecting certain eggs, birds and Jepidoiitera, 

 I left Mr. Rothschild on April 8, wending my way once more southwards into the 

 eternal silent solitudes of the Sahara. I was again accompanied by our faithful 

 friend Carl Hilgert, whose name is well known to readers of this journal. 



It was no longer necessary to make the long journey to Tuuggourt agaiu on 

 mules, as tlie railway to that large oasis was almost finished, and the train took us 

 as far as Djamaa. There we pitched tents, and next morning rode to Ghamra. 

 We passed the large, shallow salt lake which we had seen before in 1909 and 1912, 

 and it was full of ducks. There being no cover to approach them, we were unable 

 to shoot anything, but we distinctly recognised, besides innumerable Fulica atra, a 

 number of Anas querqmdula, a few Anas crecca, and hundreds of Sheld-dncks, 

 Tadonia ta.dorna. 



At Ghamra we slejit, camping in a very picturesque place, near the extended 

 oasis, and next morning we proceeded to Touggonrt. It was Friday and market- 

 day, and a crowd of people in the town. We said good raorniug to Monsieur 

 Henry Chazelles, now in charge of the hotel, and saw one Sliman, the headman 

 of the camel-drivers who went with us to In-Salah, and who was eager to travel 

 with us once more. We then continued our march through the large oasis of 

 Temacin and Zaouia-Tamellath to Bledet-Ahmar. Thinking we knew the way, 

 we separated from the caravan and guide, but we both went wrong I I got 

 so deep into the Chott that it was impossible to proceed, and had to turn back, 

 nnneeessarily losing much time, while Hilgert found a safe, though very slippery 

 way through the swam23s, and reached the place where we had eamjjed in 1912; 

 but alas, there was no living soul — the houses were deserted, some beginning to 

 crumble to pieces. On account of the unhealthiness of the place Bledet-Ahmar had 

 been moved about 5 kilometres farther eastwards. 



On April 11 we rode to the Hassi-Dinar, through low, rolling sand-hills, 

 generally with a good deal of vegetation. We passed a well with water of a 

 pleasant taste, though a rotten dead Jerboa floated in it — discovered after we 

 had indulged in the cooling draught. The walls of the well probably served the 

 Desert-sparrow, Fasser simplex saharae, as a nesting-place, for a pair flew round 

 it ; but the camels were ahead and we had no ropes, or other means at hand, to make 

 sure. The water in the well of Dinar is very brackish and supposed to be 

 unhealthy, though it might serve in the place of the famous " Hunyadi Janes " 

 water. Si/lcia nana deserti was seen occasionally, and we admired the tall 



