192 1.] of Tmns'm and Algeria. 411 



of migrants — I found Biskra and its environs all that its 

 admirers had claimed for it. From our comfortable quarters 

 in the Hotel du Sahara we were able to make easy expe- 

 ditions in many directions — on horseback, in carriages, on 

 camel, or on foot. Thus the plain of El Outai'a is within 

 easy reach, also the sand-dunes, the stony desert, the sandy 

 desert, the bare rugged hills, and the wide bed of the 

 Oued Biskra, the extensive pahn-groves of Vieux Biskra, 

 the wonderful garden of Count Landon, each holding their 

 own particular birds, only a cursory knowledge of which 

 can be obtained in a three weeks' visit. Later in the season 

 (we left Biskra on the 24th of March) the oasis is full of 

 migrants passing on their long journey north. On March 

 13th I met a French sportsman returning with four or five 

 couple of Quail, which he had shot in the fields on the 

 outskirts of the oasis — the first arrivals of the season, so he 

 informed me. By the third week in March, Swallows and 

 House-Martins had become common, frequenting particularly 

 the Oued Biskra and the cornfields on the outskirts of the 

 oasis. The young palm-groves were teeming with Warblers, 

 apparently on passage ; but of other migrants, such as Bee- 

 eaters, Rollers, Swifts, and Redstarts, none had yet arrived. 

 Had we remained another month we should doubtless have 

 found them in numbers. Rock-Martins were, however, 

 observed in one place only, half a dozen of these birds flying 

 round the old watch tower, built on a commanding rock near 

 the entrance to the town. Hartert records them from near 

 Biskra in Februarj^, March, and April. 



The birds of Biskra and its neighbourhood have been so 

 thoroughly studied by Lord Rothschild, Dr. Hartert, and 

 others, that I can add nothing whatever to their exhaustive 

 work. On 16th March we left for Touggourt — an Arab 

 market-town of considerable importance 132 miles south of 

 Biskra. The comfortable train, running twice weekly, takes 

 from 8 A.M. until 4.30 p.m. to cover the distance, but the 

 leisurely journey gives one ample time to study the topo- 

 graphy of the real desert, so unlike the Sahara as seen in 

 our childhood's picture-books ! A great part of the way 



