Ornithology of Northern Africa. l61 



over my swollen face^ without even investigating the discoveries 

 of the " Boulets." The next morning was devoted to making up 

 the arrears of the last night's work, and looking over the cap- 

 tures of my scouts, which consisted chiefly of <S^. hippola'is, two 

 of /S. ela'ica, and one of S. cetti. They, however, brought me 

 news of a nest of Aquila chrijsaetos in IMount Chenoua, and of 

 a " digging " of Merops apiaster in a bank hard by. From the 

 up])er part of Koleah Forest a stream descends and feeds the 

 Lake. Its banks are steep during the latter part of its course ; 

 and on working our way through the brushwood to the edge, 

 we saw the lively Bee-eaters skimming like Swallows up and 

 down the stream, or plunging into the holes they had burrowed. 

 Unlike the Kingfisher, the Bee-eater does not show the brilliancy 

 of his plumage when on the wing ; it is only when perching, as 

 it often does, on a bough overhanging the bank, that its bright 

 and varied livery becomes conspicuous. After examining several 

 holes and finding but one which contained a single egg, while 

 the greater part of the excavations were as yet incomplete I 

 resolved to inspect the Eagle's nest ; so after a long tramp 

 across the Sahel, and much parleying with the natives, for I had 

 got out of the lines of the soldiery, I was taken to the cliff, where 

 truly enough the Zouave had in his previous Sunday ramble 

 detected a nest of " Ogab," which now, as I could plainly 

 ascertain by my glass, contained two downy young. On my 

 retiirn in the evening, I was delighted to find two nests of the 

 exquisite little Fantail Warbler {Cisticola schcenicola) brought in 

 by some soldiers who had been cutting forage in the neighbour- 

 hood. This lively and attractive songster, scarcely as large as 

 our Gold-crested Wren, is by no means uncommon in the moist 

 meadows of Northern Algeria ; but it is only by chance that its 

 nest can be discovered, except by the mowers. The Pink- 

 pink, as the natives call it from its note, constructs its dwelling 

 about a foot from the ground, by entwining the living stems of 

 grass with very fine cotton and spiders' webs. These, with the 

 down of seeds, form the foundation ; and as the nest is long in 

 construction, the hen bird begins to lay, and even to sit, while 

 her mate occupies his leisure in weaving higher and higher the 

 walls of their little dwelling. I had the good fortune once to 



