6 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



a season of which I have had no exj^erience, they 

 are admirably expressed by Canon Tristram thus : 

 " Each portion of the Sahara — the rocky ridges, 

 the sand drifts, the plains, the chotts or salt plains, 

 —has its peculiar ornithological characteristics. 

 But by far the most interesting localities are, as 

 might have been anticipated, the dayats and the 

 oases. Here are the winter quarters of many of 

 our familiar summer visitants. The ChiffchafF, 

 Willow Wren, and Whitethroat hop on every twig 

 in the gardens shadowed by the never-failing palm ; 

 the Swallow and the Window Martin thread the 

 lanes, and sport over the mouths of the wells in 

 pursuit of the swarming mosquitoes ; the Hoopoe 

 solemnly stalks on every dunghill, a cherished and 

 respected guest ; the White Shrike perches motion- 

 less on the extremity of the palm-leaf ; while a pair 

 or more of the Egyptian Turtle Dove nestle in the 

 centre of almost everv tree ; and a random shot is 

 pretty sure to start from under the dates a dozing 

 ' Booma,' or Little Owl. These peaceful retreats 

 seem to be rarely visited by any Raptor more 

 formidable than the Kestrel. Not so in the dayats. 

 Here the Golden Eagle, the Royal and Arabian 

 Kites, hold court and courtship, and carry on a 

 perpetual though bloodless warfare with the Raven. 



