366 Rev. H. B.Tristram's Notes from Eastern Algeria. 



plumage that the female is but rarely observed, so rarely, that 

 I am sure we noted at least a dozen males for every hen bird we 

 saw. With her brown back and russet-red breast, she is detected 

 with difficulty in the bushes, and, unlike her consort, rarely ex- 

 hibits herself on the top of a bush or the edge of a stone, re- 

 maining generally among the roots of the thickets. Though in 

 distribution of plumage Moussier's Warbler shows a strong 

 affinity to the Redstarts, yet in its habits and manner of perch- 

 ing it is a true Furze-chat, and I fully agree with INIr. Salviu's 

 opinion (Ibis, i. 307) that it is more of a Chat than a Redstart. 

 After a long search I discovered the nest, with a single egg, 

 artfully concealed near the base of a small Thvja bush. The 

 nest is very warm, rather loosely built, with a slight skeleton of 

 very small twigs, and a thick lining of grass, wool, cow's hair, 

 camel's hair, and many feathers, chiefly Hoopoe's ; within this 

 is a very neatly laid lining of fine hair. The nest is not so 

 compact as those of the Whin- and Stone-Chats, but very like 

 that of the Redstart. But the eggs 1 know not how to describe. 

 They are white, with the faintest tinge of bluish-green, unlike 

 any others I can recall, but approaching in shade some ot the 

 more delicate hues which are found in the eggs of some of the 

 Egrets, and rendering the bird a beautiful link between the 

 Wheatcar andTithys Redstart. It does not a-ppear that this bird is 

 anywhere even partially a migrant, nor could I ascertain that in 

 any locality it is more plentiful at one season than another. I 

 have seen skins, obtained by Mr. Fraser near Sousa, some years 

 before it was described in 1852 by Leon Olph-Gallard*; but this is 



* Mr. Fraser informs us that lie obtained his specimens of this bird, 

 wliieh are now in th« British Museum, in 184/. M.Leon Olph-Gallard 

 first described it at a meeting of the Societe Nationale d' Agriculture, 

 d'Histoire Naturclle et des Arts, of Lyons, held on April 2ud, 1852, from 

 specimens procured by M. Moussier in the province of Oran, under the 

 name Erifhacus motissieri. See ' Annales de la Socie'te Nationale d'Agri- 

 culture,' &o., for 1852, pi. 2. A translation of this article into German 

 will be found in 'Nauraannia,' vol. ii. pt. 3. p. 68, with a figure, which is 

 better than the original. During a visit to Tunis in the month of Febmary 

 1859, we found Moussier's Redstart not uncommon in the vicinity of 

 Oudenah — a day's journey south of Tunis, and between the latter place 

 and Zaghouan it was often seen at the road-side, perched on the ground or 

 on a small bush. — Ed. 



