Ornithologij of Northern Africa. 301 



sand, and when alarmed continuing its flight to a considerable 

 distance. It was obtained in the dreary desert between Gue- 

 nara and Hadjira, and also in the Chotts near Tuggurt. It 

 breeds in burrows. 



42. Saxicola HALOPHiLA, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59. (The 

 Salt-loving Chat.) 



Like the preceding in its habits and localities, but apparently 

 occurring only in the eastern and Tunisian portions of the 

 Sahara. The general tone of plumage somewhat resembles that 

 of S.philothamna, to which in its perching and burrowing habits 

 it bears affinities. There is a peculiar silky texture in its loose 

 plumage, which I have not observed in other Chats. It is 

 shorter, but more robust than the S. stapazina, and wants the 

 dark back, throat, and shoulders of S. philothamna. Its incon- 

 spicuous cinnamon head and back render it very difficult to de- 

 tect, either on the ground or perched on a tuft of Desert-rush. 

 On the first occasion on which I met with it, the chase cost me 

 an hour's pursuit before I could get within shot, the little fellow 

 keeping quietly but constantly about a hundred yards ahead. 

 There is very little difference between the sexes in plumage, the 

 female being without the dark cheeks, and rather fainter in 

 general coloration. 



43. Saxicola homochroa, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59. (Soli- 

 tary Chat.) 



The smallest and most inconspicuous of its class, exiled to a 

 region where none others exist. In the restless sand-drifts 

 of the Desert of Souf, and the ' Dunes de sable ' which roll 

 and rise beyond the Tunisian Djereed, is the home of this soli- 

 tary and melancholy bird. While toiling through this weary 

 Sand-ocean in a three-days' journey, this and Galerida arenicola 

 were the only living things that crossed our path. With the 

 exception of its dark-brown primaries and recti'ices and dull- 

 white tail-coverts, it is of a uniform pale sand-colour. The 

 sexes are identical in plumage. It sits at the edge of a sand- 

 drift, and as the shelving sides crumble down with the wind, it 

 seems to search for its food in the debris. 



[To be continued.] 



