in the Eastern Atlas. 187 



reversed ; and the distinctness of the Barbary Falcon from the 

 Peregrine, which has long been and still is a tradition among 

 falconers, will probably be as much confirmed by future re- 

 searches as that opinion. 



My own experience of this bird was entirely confined to the 

 Eastern Atlas, where in some districts it is by no means un- 

 common. I had many opportunities of watching the birds, and 

 was present at the siege of three of their eyries, besides discover- 

 ing others which were inaccessible. The first of these nests was 

 in a hole in the eastern portion of the rock of Djebel Dekma. 

 To this nest, for a long time Mohamed obstinately refused to 

 ascend ; it was his first experience in rope-climbing. Two dol- 

 lars, however, produced the desired effect ; and after five hours' 

 hard woi'k, during which we had to employ every available foot 

 of cord, even to our tent-lines, we were rewarded with three 

 eggs. While the siege was going on, I shot one of the old 

 birds. A few feet from the nest of the Lammergeyer in Khifan 

 M'sakta was another nest. From this we took on the 9th of 

 April four eggs just ready to hatch. The parent birds I 

 watched for some time as they flew anxiously round, but did 

 not shoot one. On the 20th of April an Arab reported that he 

 had found a nest of " Bournee " in Kef Boudjato, a rock situ- 

 ated no great distance from Kef Laks. I immediately started 

 to the spot, taking with me Mohamed, my gun, and ropes. A 

 successful siege was the result ; and I returned to the tents with 

 three eggs and one of the parent birds. The measurement of 

 an egg from each of these three nests I subjoin. The Barbary 

 Falcon brought to England by us (mentioned above as now in 

 Mr. Gurney's possession) was procured from a rock near the 

 Marabout of Sidi Khalifa Cherif, on the northern boundary of 

 the extensive plain that holds the salt lake of Guerah El Tharf. 

 Bil Ghazoura, our interpreter, and Mohamed, our climber, took 

 it and another from the same nest about the 8th of May. They 

 had then almost assumed their feathers. Between these two 

 birds there subsisted a marked difference in size; and the 

 smaller of the two had, in addition to the rufous marking at the 

 back of the neck, a light-coloured reddish head. We kept 

 them about two months, during which time they came to their 



