290 Rev. H. B. Tristram an I he 



cipices. My specimen I shot in December, near the M'zab 

 country, whilst it was being pursued by a party of Ravens. It 

 was a male in immature plumage. From the warning I received 

 from my guides, I never ventured to offend prejudices by shoot- 

 ing a second specimen. The careful and able notes of Mr. Salvin 

 in the last Number of ' The Ibis ' render it needless to state more 

 than merely the occurrence of this bird in the Sahara. 



10. Hypotriorchis subbuteo. (The Hobby.) 

 Migratory in the Desert : halting in the Dayats, apparently 



on its passage south. 



11. TiNNUNCULUS ALAUDARius. (The Kestrel.) 



The Kestrel, identical with that of Europe, although a futile 

 attempt was once made to separate it under the name of guttatus, 

 probably fi'om the purity of its colours under so bright an 

 atmosphere, is abundant in every part of the Desert except the 

 plains. In the oases he preys on the Palm Rat {Mus chamee- 

 ropsis), which nestles in little communities in the crown of the 

 Date-trees, or he pursues the large Scarabcei in the gardens. In 

 the rocky ' Weds ' he finds abundance of ' Gundi ' [Ctenodactylus 

 massoni), the Marmot of Africa; and in the Dayats I have often 

 watched him pouncing upon the Jerboas as they leave their 

 holes. 



12. AsTUR PALUMBARius. (Goshawk.) 



I saw one specimen trained for hawking, but never met with 

 the bird in a state of nature. 



13. MiLvus REGALis. (Couimon Kite.) " Hadaija Hamra," 

 Arab. 



Abundant in the Dayats, where it breeds on trees, and preys 

 upon the various species of Sand-grouse, living apparently at 

 peace with the Golden Eagles before mentioned. 



14. MiLvus ^GYPTius. (Egyptian Kite.) " Essaf," Arab. 

 This Kite, which in the Sahara takes the place of the Black 



Kite {M. ater) of the Atlas, exactly resembles it in all its habits. 

 I observed the same contrast between its character and that of 

 the Red Kite which exists between the latter and the Black 

 Kite. Sociable, fearless, and inquisitive, it approaches man far 



