Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., on the Ornithology of Algeria. 291 



I have observed it often look upwards at its mate in the sky, 

 singing as it mounted. Of those I shot^ one had been feeding 

 upon caterpillars an inch in length; the gizzard of another 

 glittered with the bright wings of small beetles. There appears 

 to be a sexual difference not hitherto noticed, viz. that the 

 female is smaller than the male, and much darker. 



88. Alauda arvensis (Linn.). Skylark. 



Common. Mr. Salvin, however, mentions that it is rare in 

 the Salt-lake country. (Ibis, i. p. 314.) 



89. Certhilauda desertorum (Stanley). Bifasciated Lark. 

 A little south of Laghouat. 



90. Emberiza miliaria, Linn. Common Bunting. 

 Common. 



91. Emberiza cirlus, Linn. Cirl Bunting. 

 Not uncoznnion. 



92. Emberiza cia, Linn. Meadow-Bunting. 



Seen amongst the hills in the small valleys formed by every 

 stream of water (oftenest near a road) ; not actually in flocks, but 

 several in the same valley. 



93. Fringillaria sahar^, Bp. House-Bunting. 



I think every house in Gardaia is tenanted by a pair of House- 

 Buntings. They are equally common in the other Mzab cities. 

 A nest in the inner court at Berryan w^as upon some plaster in a 

 large square hole. It contained one young one, yellow about 

 the gape, and covered with a whitish down. It was a shallow 

 nest, made of the thin twigs of firewood, and lined with hair. 

 The hen generally flew to it from the edge of the opposite wall. 

 I often watched her preening herself. She liked to sit on the edge 

 of something, and let her tail hang down, which, from constant 

 contact with the floor, was very dirty. She usually began by 

 puffing out every feather until she resembled a ball divided by 

 a deep line down the middle of the breast, into w^hich slie 

 thrust her beak. When the lower parts were finished, she 

 would preen the back, especially underneath the wing, between 

 the scapular feathers. This is probably the attitude in which 



