of yorth-eadent Africa. 133 



the second about 1", the iitat 9"'-]0"'. There is^ especially 

 upon the iuncr vunc of the reetrices behind the dark spotj a hghtcr 

 space washed with reddish-yellow, so tliat, when the tail is com- 

 pletely expanded^ its apical half appears trifasciate — that is, the 

 broad tip itself white, then a tolerably broad and distinct blackish 

 bund, and then aj^ain a more or less striking, lighter, almost 

 yellowish band. The colonr of the margins of the feathers on 

 the upper surface varies between yellowish-tawny and bright 

 rusty-yellow ; the striation is frequently very sharp and almost 

 smoky-black, sometimes faded and dilute. 



This species is a permanent resident in llgypt, Nubia, and 

 Northei'n Arabia, goes southwards to Abyssinia, and proba- 

 bly also to Scnnaar, and certainly does not live among sedges, 

 but chiefly in clover- and wheat-fields, in meadows and acacia 

 and date-palm thickets, especially when these are overgrown 

 by climbing plants and grass, in gardens, and also far from 

 the cultivated land, close upon the borders of the desert. This 

 lively and abundant bird is usually met with in pairs. In 

 the Delta the business of reproduction begins as early as March, 

 when the male may frequently be seen in the neighbourhood of 

 the breeding-place, ascending in the same way as is usual with the 

 Whitethroat ; they also describe circles, flying low with jerks and 

 fluttering, and at the same time uttering a cry of " ter-ter-ter," 

 like the geckos, Passler asserts (J. f. 0. 1857, p. 115) that this 

 species builds among sedges and reeds a nest so peculiar that it 

 cannot be confounded with any other (!!) : reed-stalks and sedge- 

 leaves are closely woven together, and the leaves sewn together 

 with vegetable silk after being pricked with the bill ; the entrance 

 into the elongated purse-shaped nest is placed either above or 

 below, or at the side ; the Ave eggs are shining white. All this 

 circumstantial description by no means agrees with my obser- 

 vations. The httle bird probably breeds in wheat- and clover- 

 fields ; but I found its nests only in date-palm groves and low 

 thorn hedges ; they were placed from one to two feet above the 

 ground, and were from 4^" to 6" high, the deep cavity of the nests 

 being 2"-2^" in diameter. The entire structure is not very thick 

 and solid; the form is governed by the locality, and more or 

 less approaches that of the lleed-W'arblei', but is sometimes rather 



