Birds of the Province of Constantine. 575 



forests, the districts round Batna and Lambessa. The note 

 of this bird is quite different to that of the English species, 

 and very closely resembles that of the Domestic Sparrow. 

 Its song, too, is different. Otherwise the habits of the two 

 birds are very much alike ; and the nests are built in precisely 

 similar situations. I found a nest of this bird scarcely com- 

 pleted (3n the 12th of May, in the evergreen-oak forests above 

 Lambessa. It was in a small evergreen oak, about ten feet 

 from the ground, in a small fork, and almost buried in the 

 lichens which cover the timber so richly here. It is made of 

 lichens, sheep's wool, and vegetable down, with a few rootlets 

 and bents, and lined with the feathers of the Barbary Par- 

 tridge. This bird does not make so compact a nest as 

 our Chaffinch; yet still it is well made, and the power of 

 mimicry displayed by the parent is not small, her nest 

 being undistinguishable from its surroundings. At the nest 

 her actions are just like those of her congener, flying round 

 and round and exhibiting the greatest anxiety for her treasure. 

 The Algerian Chaffinch has two near allies in the Azores, 

 Madeira, and Canary Islands, viz. F. tintillon andi^. moreleti. 

 It is, however, always to be distinguished from them by its 

 smaller beak and pink underparts, which in those species are 

 pinkish buff. On the African continent, so far as I can de- 

 termine, no intermediate forms occur; but in the islands a 

 perfect series from F. tintillon to F. moreleti may be obtained. 

 The blue-backed birds always have a greater amount of blue 

 on the sides of the breast and flanks. Dresser's statement 

 that the female of F. spodiogena is " undistinguishable from 

 the female of Fringilla ccelebs " is incorrect. It may always 

 be distinguished by the much greyer tone of colour pervading 

 the whole plumage, by the white outer margins to the secon- 

 daries, which in F. ccelebs are yellowish green, by the greater 

 amount of white on the tail-feathers, by its larger beak, and 

 by its generally larger size. From the English Chaffinch {F. 

 ccelebs) the male Algerian Chaffinch may easily be distin- 

 guished by its green instead of reddish-brown mantle. 



