370 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the Ornithology of Palestine. 



fined chiefly to the Ghor, or Jordan valley, where it congregates at 

 all times of the year in countless myriads, breeding in colonies 

 so crowded that I have seen the jujube-trees absolutely broken 

 down under the weight of their nests ; while their noise is so 

 deafening that it is impossible to carry on conversation in their 

 " rookeries/^ I have known their eggs brought in by thousands, 

 but I never saw any variety approaching the dark varieties of 

 the egg of the Common Sparrow. This bird, like the Doves, 

 feeds largely on the leaves of leguminous plants. It is also 

 found in moist wooded districts in other parts of the country, 

 though not in such vast numbers as in the Ghor; but it never 

 becomes a denizen of the towns. 



The most interesting species of the genus is the Passer moa- 

 hiticus, Tristr. (P. Z. S. 1861, p. 169), a bird very restricted in 

 its habitat. We never met with it at the north end of the Dead 

 Sea, not even in the oasis of Jericho, nor in the rich plains of 

 Shittim on the eastern side. We first discovered it at the west 

 side of the Dead Sea, at Ain Terabeh, among the reeds which in 

 a dense mass overhang the sea and the many brackish springs 

 which there flow into it. We caught a glimpse of a few at the 

 south-western end of the sea, among the reeds of Wady um Bag- 

 kek ; and again on the east side, in the Ghor es Safieh, it was plen- 

 tiful. It is exceedingly shy and wary, and was most difficult either 

 to see, or, when shot, to retrieve. It lives in small flocks, and 

 is extremely restless, feeding on the seeds of the great feathery 

 Donacc. The chirp was like that of the common Sparrow; 

 and till we saw it, we took it for P. salicarius, which also inhabits 

 the same spot. Its bright chestnut back, diminutive size (one- 

 third less than that of the Tree-Sparrow), and the bright yellow 

 on each shoulder at once marked it as distinct. Yet it bears 

 no resemblance to the Passer flavicollis of India except in size. 

 The yellow spots, though pale, are conspicuous in the female 

 also, which in other respects is dressed in the sombre garb of 

 the female of the common House-Sparrow. It is interesting to 

 note that while the P. flavicollis of India shows a parallelism to 

 the Petronia siulta in the yellow spot on the breast, P. moabiticus 

 has the spot on each shoulder ; and the nearest congener of P. 

 stulta, P. brachydactyla, has no spot at all. 



