in the Eastern Atlas, 309 



indispensable requisite to their haunts ; for I observed it not un- 

 frequently in the arid district of Guerah el Tharf. In the map, 

 this lake looks a magnificent piece of water ; but it is in reality 

 what most of the places similarly laid down are, viz. a wide ex- 

 panse of sand covered with saline incrustation, which only in 

 peculiarly wet seasons is flooded with water. There nearly 

 always exists in most of these sandy plains a great amount of eva- 

 poration, which, with the white saline matter on the surface, at 

 a distance of a few miles gives all the appearance of a turbulent 

 lake. Indeed, so perfect is the deception, that on arriving at 

 Ain Beida, we supposed that, when looking on Guerah el Tharf, 

 we had in view a magnificent lake; and so we continued to 

 believe it, till a morning^s ride destroyed the illusion. Sub- 

 sequently I saw many other instances of mirage, in some of 

 which the hills, clouds, and all the surrounding objects were 

 perfectly reflected. Near Am Djendeli, I used frequently to 

 notice the present species about the trees that overhang the dry 

 stony water- courses that run from the hills into the plain be- 

 neath. We never found a nest, however, in one of the above- 

 mentioned places ; and it would seem that the bird prefers a 

 moister soil for its breeding-haunts, such as is afforded by the 

 lowlands near lake Djendeli, where the Tamarisk-trees grow on 

 the banks of the Chemora and the small Am or spring. The 

 nest we found usually placed conspicuously in the fork or on a 

 branch of one of these trees, and with apparently no attempt 

 at concealment. The heights at which the structure is placed 

 vary from one to six feet from the ground. In one instance I 

 found a nest among the roots of a tree in a bank-side, in a 

 place where one would have expected in England to have found 

 the nest of a llobin. The materials employed are the dead 

 shoots of the Tamarisk, which form the outside, — the inside and 

 lining being usually coot's or duck's feathers, mingled with 

 wool or camel's hair ; and in nine cases out of ten, a small piece 

 of serpent's skin is loosely placed in the bottom of the nest*. 



The number of eggs varies from three to five. They are laid 

 about the third w^eek in May. 



* I have since observed other instances of serpent's skin similarly used. 

 As to what object the bird has in view in employing such material, I can 

 form no conjectnie. 



VOL. I. Y 



