390 Mr. D. A. Bannerman : First Impreftswns [Ibis, 



the countries where the burning- questions associated with 

 them may best be settled ! Of the varied races of the 

 Crested Lark known to inhabit Tunisia, I shall have more to 

 say later : the country between Carthage and La Marsa is 

 suited rather to Blackbirds, Thrushes, Chaffinches, "Whin- 

 chats, Whitethroats, Grrey Wagtails, Blackcaps, Black Red- 

 starts^ and Serin finches, all o£ which werenoted in lesser or 

 o-reater numbers on the walk along the cliffs. The Sparrows 

 of Tunisia and Algeria have long been a source of ])erplexity 

 to systematic ornithologists. Whitaker tackled the question 

 in his delightful book (' Birds of Tunisia,' vol. i. pp. 203-204), 

 and showed that the common Sparrow of the Regency was 

 Passer hispaniolensis hispaniolensis, though P. domest'icus 

 inhabited the western districts and interbred extensively 

 with the Spanish Sparrow : while in the south Sparrows 

 which he referred to P. italice were obtained. Hartert has 

 discussed the status of the Algerian Sparrows at great length 

 (Nov. Zool. xviii. 1912, pp. 479-482), and from his care- 

 fully considered observations we find that Passer Jiispaniolensis 

 hispaniolensis occurs in Tunisia, as noted by W^liitaker, but 

 that the House Sparrow of Tunisia, which interbreeds so 

 largely with the Spanish Sparrow, is Passer domesticus tinyi- 

 tanns, while the Sparrows from southern Tunisia (Gafsa) were 

 named fucldgeri by Zedlitz, though they are in reality only 

 hybrids, and are not therefore eligible for snbspecific rank. 

 These are the birds which Whitaker and others placed under 

 the name P. italice, though Whitaker pointed out that they 

 were by no means typical examples. 



An excursion of exceptional interest both to the ornitholo- 

 gist and the archffiologist is to motor from Tunis to Dougga, 

 the site of the most w^onderful collection of Roman ruins in 

 Tunisia. Dougga lies over 100 kilometres to the south-west 

 of Tunis, and the excellent road passes through varied 

 scenery. In the immediate vicinity of Tunis the country is 

 very flat, a wide and remarkably fertile plain stretching for 

 miles. Just after leaving the outskirts of the town a 

 delightful view of the Sebkra es-Sedjounii is obtained from 

 slio-htly rising ground. The lagoon which lies on the south- 



