Birds of the Province of Const antine. 573 



The Desert-Larks, wliicli, owing to their highly developed 

 first jDrimary and richly coloured under surface of the wing, 

 I place in the genus Mirafra, exhibit another proof of the 

 mutability of species. We have two very distinct races of 

 the Desert-Lark, which, were it not for the fact that they are 

 united by an unbroken series of intermediate forms, would 

 rank as two excellent species. In the far east we find a grey- 

 backed bird, of which the richly rufous bird of Northern 

 Africa is the western representative. Thus, from Egypt, west 

 to Algeria and INIorocco, an intermediate form and M. desei'ti 

 (Licht.) are found, whilst from Egypt east to Kashmir and 

 India an intermediate form and M. jjhaenicuroides , Blyth, are 

 found, the latter subspecies being also again conspecific with 

 the M. jihcenicurus of Franklin, a bird confined to Central and 

 Southern India. 



EmBERIZA SAHARjE. 



We did not meet with the House-Bunting until we reached 

 the oases of El Kantara and Biskra. There it was very com- 

 mon, and certainly one of the tamest birds I ever met with. 

 Our little bright-eyed Robin is by no means equal to the 

 House-Bunting in familiarity. We repeatedly saw them enter 

 the Arab houses ; and, in fact, they were so tame that Mr. 

 Elwes endeavoured to catch them in his butterfly-net ! 



This is a very variable species. The skins which I obtained 

 have very obscure centres to the feathers of the back. A 

 skin obtained by Canon Tristram at Berroughuia, in De- 

 cember, has the dark centres much more developed, but in 

 general coloration resembles other Algerian skins, and might 

 almost be considered an intermediate form between this 

 species and E. striolata. The latter form is much greyer in 

 colour, and the spots on the back are much more developed, 

 than in E. saharcB. This form ranges from Nubia and Pales- 

 tine to North-west India. In Abyssinia a third supposed 

 species is found, with the black centres to the feathers greatly 

 developed on the back and wing-coverts, and the chestnut 

 margins to the quills very rich in colour, extending across 

 the inner web of the primaries and across both webs of the 



