404 Mr, D. A. Bannerman : First Impressions [Tbis, 



Hanimani-Meskoutine in February 190G, uinl the species 

 was seen b}-- the former observer iu 1910 and 1912 in the 

 same locality. Hartert also records Bonelli's Eagle (Nov. 

 Zool. xviii. p. 534) from the same place, so that I feel 

 pretty sure of my identification. 



Ii-by-'s Raven [Corvus corax tmgitanits) was also occasion- 

 ally seen in pairs. 



Crested Larks are very plentiful on the cultivated lands, 

 and they seem to love particularly the grassy strips left on 

 either side of the dusty main roads. It is a dark race, as 

 might be expected, which frequents this district, known as 

 Galerida tlieklce harterti. 



I can only add two species (by name) to the list of 

 Hammam-Meskoutine birds recorded by Rothschild, Hartert, 

 Wallis, and Jourdain, one being Moussier's Redstart (IHplo- 

 otocus moussieri). On two occasions I saw a male of this 

 unmistakable species, once close to the " Petrified Arabs," 

 the huge cone-shaped deposits of calcareous tufa, which are 

 such a remarkable sight close fo the boiling waterfall, and a 

 single bird was seen on higher ground when Mr. Sclater and 

 I were out riding on the 21st of February. The other bird, 

 which I believe has not previously been seen, though Hartert 

 heard it, was the Barn-Owl. Just as we were leaving on the 

 26th of February, my attention was called to a tree in the hotel 

 garden in which a number of Bulbuls were making a tre- 

 mendous noise. On approaching I found tliey were mobbing 

 a Barn-Owl, which, I believe, from its very white breast, 

 to have been Ti/to alba alba. The Bulbuls were keepiug a 

 very respectful distance from their unwelcome visitor, ex- 

 tending their tails and wings, which they kept in a constant 

 state of motion, while twittering and scolding incessantly. 

 The Barn-Owl is evidently a rare bird in Algeria. Only 

 once did I see a bird during my stay at Hammam which 

 really puzzled me. I was forcing my horse along a moun- 

 tain path in the direction of Roknia, through particularly 

 thick scrub, when I saw^ something i-unning under a bush. 

 Pushing the horse towards it off the track, I managed to 

 flush a bird, which might have been a glorified quail. It 



