N0VITATE3 ZOOLOOICAE XXII. 1H15. 71 



distance and keeps q^niet. The nsnal call is a fine and short whistle, quite 

 characteristic, and the song is a shrill " e-hiht e-hiht e-hiht," as rendered by 

 Koenig, or " ve-eet ve-eet ve-eet," uttered while flying in short curves over the 

 ground. 



The eggs are generally very easily distinguished from those of ^. d. alqeriensis, 

 being smaller and especially not so thick, and having a white ground-colour, often, 

 if held against the light, even with a faint light greenish hue. The markings are 

 usually very small, of a dark brown or greyish brown, and the deeper-lying greyish 

 spots are not very obvious ; the latter are, exceptionally, quite absent, and only 

 a few small spots of the deepest brown remain. Occasionally the markings are 

 bolder and of a rufescent brown, and such eggs are hardly distinguishable from 

 unusually small ones of A. deserti algeriensis. 



The following are some measurements of the eggs o^A. phoenicurus arenicolor: 

 23-2 X 15-5, 23-7 X 15-1, 224 x KrS, 21-5 x 15-5, 22x15-6, 21-6 x 15-4, 

 21-3 X 15-3, 21-8 X 16-9, 225 x 14-9, 21 x 16, 22" x 14-4, 22-2 x 13-7, 

 21-7 X 15-7, 20 x 14'4, 19-6 x 14-9, 19-9 x 15, 21-7 x 14-5, 21-7 x 15-2, 

 22-2 X 15-1, 22 X 14-7, 21-5 x 15-7, 22 x 15-5, 21 x 15-9, 21-9 x 152, 22 x 15-5, 

 21-6 X 15-4, 21-7 X 15-2, 2M x 15-6, 21-4 x 15-5, 23-5 x 15-3, 20-8 x 15-1, 

 20-7 X 15-5, 21-8 x 15-5, 2M x 15-6, 21-6 x 14-5, 21 x 15-7, 21-5 x 15-4, 

 21-4 X 15, 19-5 X 15-5, 19-9 x 14-6, 19-9 x 149, 19-3 x 14-4, 194 x 14-7, 

 19-6 X 15, 20-4 X 14-9, 20-6 x 14-1, 20 x 147, 19-9 x 14-9, 19-8 x 15-5, 

 20 X 14-8, 20 X 14-5, 20-8 x 15-5 mm. 



Koenig, Jouni. f. Or/i. 1895, pp. 451, 452, describes three clutches which 

 he found in 1893. His measurements are 19 x 14, 20 x 14, 19 x 15, 19 x 14, 

 20 X 14, 20 X 14 mm. They give thus a very wrong idea of the average size of 

 these eggs ; if correctly measured his three clutches had unusually small eggs, 

 though it Is strange that we, among 100 eggs, should not have come across one as 

 small as 19 x 14 mm. ; but Koenig mentioned only full millimetres, so that 

 probably his measures are only approximate, or at least more so than mine. The 

 parent birds we found by no means shy near their nests. 



15. Eremophila alpestris bilopha (Temm.) 



This exceedingly pretty little bird is quite common on the stony plateau 

 where Ammomancs phoenicurus arenicolor and Rhamphocorys are found. 



The call-note is a short whistle, but more drawn out and a little deeper than 

 that of A. ph. arenicolor ; these differences are hard to describe, but once one 

 has heard them can be well distinguished. The song is a very fine warbling note, 

 not at all loud, and almost impossible to describe. As a rule the birds are 

 very tame. 



There is no doubt that the second half of April is the chief breeding-time, as 

 many fresh, little, and hard-set eggs were found from April 19 to 30. The nest 

 is built like that of A. ph. arenicolor and not distinguishable from the latter. 

 It stands also under small bushes of Haloxtjlon articulatum, thistles, close to a 

 Concolmihis supimts (once), or, rarely, by the side of a stone. Koenig found 

 several nests under Helianthemum sessiliflorum, with a beantifnl golden-yellow 

 flower, bnt we did not see a nest under that plant, though it is generally common 

 on the hammada where Eremophila breeds. The nest is generally surrounded 

 with a rampart of stones on the outside and, as a rule, on the east or south-east 



