158 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the 



congener, though its red naked forehead, with the two conspi- 

 cuous lobes, suffice to distinguish it at a glance. It is some- 

 what the larger of the two species ; and the eggs run invariably 

 from a quarter to half an inch longer than those of the Common 

 Coot. Pushing among the reeds, we soon found two or three 

 of their nests, some placed among the stumps of old reed-cluraps, 

 others in little openings ou artificial mounds. I never found 

 the Common Coot here ; and though it certainly occurs on the 

 lake in winter in company with its congener, I believe that each 

 species confines itself to its own nesting-places. Thus, in the 

 lakes I visited in Eastern Algeria the following summer, while 

 Fulica atra abounded, Fulica cristata never once came under our 

 observation. 



As in our voyage we pushed and struggled through the reeds, 

 occasionally the nest of Sijlvia turdo'ides was exposed from two 

 to six feet overhead, loosely built, and abundantly lined with 

 feathers, but deep and strong, and elegantly interlaced between 

 four or five tall reed-stems. Its principles of construction are 

 exactly like those of the Reed Warbler of England ; but in finish 

 of workmanship or architectural skill, it falls far short of its 

 cousin. I searched in vain for the nest of Savi's Warbler {Sylvia 

 luscino'i'des) , whose singular cadence could everywhere be heard. 

 I was, however, rewarded by the discovery of a very pretty nest of 

 Sylvia aquatica, with four fresh eggs. As I obtained the bird, 

 the identification of this, the first nest of the species I had dis- 

 covered, was complete. At the time 1 imagined it a very rare 

 bird in Algeria, and so it is considered by the French natural- 

 ists ; but I have since found it in small numbers in all suitable 

 localities. Its shy habits, short and weak song, and its almost 

 inaccessible resorts, necessarily remove it from notice. The nest 

 is neat, but not suspended like that of our Reed Warbler [Sylvia 

 arundinacea) . It is entwined with four or five reeds, generally, 

 but not always, resting on a tuft, and about two or three feet 

 from the surface of the swamp. The eggs are for the most part 

 marked with smaller blotches than those of the Reed Warbler, 

 but not run together in the coloration like those of the Sedge 

 Warbler. As it glides through the rushes, the black and yellow 

 streaks on its head distinguish it at a glance from its congeners. 



