48 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



is distinguished by the varying amount of scarlet 

 on the breast. 



205. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Piais 

 minor, LinncCus, is a resident in the forest districts 

 of Algeria. Malherbe sought to separate the Al- 

 gerian birds under the name of P . ledoiici, but the 

 characters are apparently too trivial. 



206. The Algerian Green Woodpecker Geci- 

 nus vaillantii (Malherbe), is a resident and widely 

 distributed throughout the forest districts, though 

 nowhere particularly common. I only met with this 

 species in the cedar forests west of Batna, and in 

 the evergreen oak woods between Oued Taga and 

 Lambessa. 



207. The Wryneck Ii/n.v tnrquilla, Linnaeus, is 

 locally distributed in Algeria, where it is probably a 

 resident, but many pass through the country on 

 migration after visiting Europe in summer, to win- 

 ter still further to the south. I met with this species 

 at Biskra in May, and Taczanowski at Philippeville 

 on the coast early in April. 



208. Irby's Raven Curvu.s t/ngitanus, Irby, is a 

 resident in Algeria, and very widely and commonly 

 distributed. I met with this Raven, the Algerian 

 representative of the Common Raven, everywhere I 

 went south of Constantine, either in pairs or in small 



