294 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the 



dwells in the Desert, there it is found his constant companion. 

 Probably there are frequent instances of hybrids in the gardens, 

 where both species may be found together. 



26. CoRospizA SIMPLEX (Temm.). (Desert Sparrow.) 

 This charming and characteristic little Sparrow, figured by 

 Temminck, PI. Col. 358, and described from Nubian specimens, 

 was first ascertained to be a resident in the Sahara in the winter of 

 ]856, when I obtained several examples in the oasis of Hadjira. 

 Capt. Loche has since found it in the Wed M'zab. It is a rare 

 bird in all its localities, living in little companies of five or six 

 together in the outskirts of the Palm-groves among the stunted 

 and sand-choked Date-palms, and never, according to our ob- 

 servation, venturing into the cultivated portions of the Oases. 

 It is scarcely necessary to add that it is confined to the most 

 southern limits of the Algerian Sahara. It is shy and silent, 

 and hops from leaf to leaf more like a Sylvia than a sparrow, 

 running along the ground from tree to tree, and then skulking 

 in the heart of the Date-buds, where it probably finds its insect 

 food. The difference in colouring between the male and female 

 is singular, the male being of an ashy sand-colour above and 

 white below, while the female is of a uniform rich rufous sand- 

 colour. It is almost impossible to detect her on the ground, 

 though only a few feet from the observer. I never found the Desert 

 Sparrow in the open country, nor indeed more than a few yards 

 from a tree, and I observed its habits the more carefully for 

 several days, as I fully believed it to be a new species. 



27. Erythrospiza githaginea. (Vinous Grosbeak.) 

 Fovmd generally dispersed on the gravelly steppes in the north 

 of the Sahara, but not in the sandy districts. In winter it is 

 gregarious, and may be seen in small flocks industriously search- 

 ing under every stone, or picking the buds of the Desert plants. 

 In spring these flocks disperse, and retire to pair among the 

 lonely 'weds' and cliffs, where they breed in holes, laying an egg 

 resembling that of the Bullfinch, but the ground of a much deeper 

 blue. The nest is slight, composed entirely of fine roots and 

 fibrous grasses. In flight and general appearance at a distance 

 the Vinous Grosbeak much resembles the Mountain Linnet. 



