68 Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., on the Ornithology of Algeria. 



For the benefit of any one who may refer to Machado's list, I 

 may obsei've that the whole of the description at p. 16, under 

 the head of C. europceus, has by a typographical error been sepa- 

 rated from Hirundo urbica, to which it evidently applies. 



55. Cypselus melba. "Avion." 



Arrives in ]\Iarch, and breeds in colonies in the mountains, 

 notably near Alora. 



56. Cypselus APUS. " Avion ; ^' Valencian, " Falsia." 

 Abundant in spring and summer. 



[To be continued.] 



V. — On the Ornithology of Algeria. 

 By J. H. Gurney, Jan., F.Z.S. 



On the 25th of January, 1870, 1 disembarked at Oran, the chief 

 town of the western province of Algeria, and a few days after- 

 wards moved on in a coasting -steamer to Algiers. Before 

 setting out for the Sahara, I devoted a month to collecting in 

 the Tell"^, principally in the vicinity of Blida and Miliana -, and 

 it was not until the 1st of March that I finally started for the 

 interior. 



The first caravanserai, properly so called, is Bougzout; the 

 second is Ain-Oussera ; the third, Guelt el Stel. The water at 

 all these places is barely drinkable. On the 22nd of March I 

 arrived at Laghouat, the last French outpost, the first oasis of 

 the Sahara, a picturesque spot by reason of its tall Palms. To 

 the northward stretch plains as far as Djelpha. Rocky moun- 

 tain-ridges protect this oasis from the wind, which frequently 

 blows the sand in overwhelming clouds. 



On the 9th of April I started for the Mzab country. My 

 camel unfortunately took fright the first night at some Ravens, 

 and deserted me, so that for ten days I was without arsenical 

 soap. But it is not necessary to recount all the incidents of the 



* I cannot better define " the Tell " than in the words of Dr. Tristram. 

 He calls it ''the coni-<?rowing country from the coast to the Atlas" 

 (Ibis, 18.50. p. 277). 



