70 ■ NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAB XXII. 1915. 



13. Ammomanes deserti algeriensis 8harpe. 



The Algerian Desert-lark is not at all rare near the Oned N^a, bat it is neither 

 found in tlie river-bed nor, as a rnle, on the endless monotonons jilain to the south, 

 but iohabits chiefly the nudnlated hill-couutry north of the cued, the slopes of 

 ravines or depressions — in short, those parts where the ground is more broken. 



The second half of April is apparently the jjrincipal breeding season, though 

 it varies, and we found young birds already flying about on April 28, and a hard-set 

 clutch of eggs was found near Biskra on April 1. Formerly we have also found 

 fresh ones during the first half of May. 



While clutches of four are usually not very rare, we have only seen clutches of 

 three from the M'zab country this year, but some of theai may not have been 

 completed. 



The eggs of ^4. d. algeriensis are, as a rule, easily distinguishable from all 

 other eggs found in the Northern Sahara. They are thicker than those of the 

 Eremophila, and the ground-colour is, as a rule, creamy or with a reddish hue ; 

 the markings consist in most cases of larger spots and patches of a rufous-brown, 

 generally somewhat pale, sometimes darker, less frequently reddish. Between 

 these brownish spots the pale grey or pale violet-grey, deeper-lying spots are 

 distinctly visible. The markings frequently form a ring or zone round the thick 

 end. Such "typical" eggs cannot be mistaken for any others found in the same 

 country, but many varieties occur. The size — as usual in so many eggs — varies 

 a good deal, and the markings are often quite fine, small spots ; such eggs, if 

 unusually small, may closely resemble certain varieties of the eggs of Eremophila 

 (ilpestris bilopha. The ground-colour is occasionally quite white, and such eggs, 

 if unusually small, would hardly be distinguishable from eggs of Ammomanes 

 pkocnicurus arenicolor. 



The Arab name " Bachliula " is doubtless meant to represent the peculiar 

 song of the male, which has the same number of syllables and the same 

 cadence. 



14. Ammomanes phoenicurus arenicolor (Sund.). 



Kear El-Alia with young flying about on April Vi. The same day, however, 

 clutches with fresh and about half-way incubated eggs were found, others from fresh 

 to hard-set from that day onwards to the end of April. 



The clutch consists generally of two eggs only, though three are not very rare, 

 but more than three were not found. The nests stand usually by the side of 

 a small bush, mostly Haloxtjlon articulatiim, the " remeth " of the Arabs, a 

 salsolaceons plant which on the stony plains between El-Alia, Guerrara and 

 Ghardaia generally takes the place of the Artemisia lierba-alba of the Hants 

 Plateaux, which is not very common here. Sometimes the nest stands almost free, 

 by the side of a stone, and once it was found on the east side of a large flat stone 

 placed upright as a sign to indicate the " road." The nests are composed of small 

 twigs of desert plants and a few grasses, interwoven with plant-wool, sheep's wool, 

 and pieces of cloth. The nest is surrounded by a rampart of stones, sometimes 

 quite elaborately, less frequently obsolete or almost wanting. There is no doubt 

 that these ramparts of stones serve to keep the nest in its place, as a fortification 

 against the frequent gales of the desert. All nests we saw were placed on the east 

 or south-east side of the bushes or stones. The birds are quite tame and will come 

 back to the nest within ten to twenty minutes, if not before, if one waits at some 



