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BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Dc0ert Mbcatear 



John IJunca.k 



The Desert Wheatear {Saxicola desertt, Temminck) is a 

 rare autumn migrant to the British Islands. During sum- 

 mer it occurs in Algeria, Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine, and 

 in winter it ranges through Abyssinia to North-West India. 

 The adult male in summer has the general colour of the 

 upper parts buff, changing into white on rump and upper 

 tail-coverts ; tail, black, with white bases ; superciliary 

 stripe, whitish; cheeks, throat, and sides of neck, black; 

 wings, blackish-brown, with pale tips; under parts, white, 

 with a tinge of sandy-rufous on chest and flanks ; irides, 

 dark brown ; bill, legs, and feet, black. Length, from 

 five to six inches. In this species the feet are very small. 

 The adult female in summer has no black on the throat. 



