412 Mr. D. A. Bannorman : First Invpressions [Ibis, 



from Biskra to Touggourt the desert was partially covered 

 with plant-life — heavy rains had fallen, and the result was 

 abundantly manifest. The formation of the niyrisids of tiny 

 sand-mounds which dot the plain, through the agency of the 

 bushes Limoniastrum, Salsola, etc., has already been ably 

 explained by Dr. Hartert, and even from the carriage 

 windows it is evident that these little hillocks are the centre 

 of the animal life of the desert. The line passes within view 

 of the Ohott Melrir and Chott Merouan^ and the sight of 

 these vast sheets of water alone upsets one's preconceived 

 idea of the Sahara. Unfortunately^ now that it is no longer 

 necessary to spend three or four days over the journey, the 

 ornithologist must not expect to get much idea of the bird- 

 life ; he will not, for instance, catch a glimpse of Galerida 

 theklce deichleri, the pale Crested Lark which is found on the 

 stony patches amidst the sandy desert, nor of Ammomanes 

 phoenicura arenicolor, of Ereinopliila alpestns hilojyha. or 

 even of Ahi'mon alaudipes alaudipes, the Bifasciated Lark 

 which occurs, we know from past explorers, in the sandy 

 parts of the desert and even on the bare dunes. To see 

 these birds in their home-surroundings the journey must be 

 made on camels, as Lord Rothschild and Dr. Hartert have 

 always done in the past. The remarkable spectacle of a 

 whirlwind of powdered saltpetre was witnessed at one point 

 during our journey, when the train was passing over a plain 

 glistening white as freshly fallen snow, the surface being 

 encrusted with crystallized nitre. This part of the desert lies 

 considerably below the level of the sea. Two or three days 

 were spent at Touggourt, and from there my wife and I rode 

 on mules to Temacin and Zaouia-, taking mint tea at the 

 latter village with the renowned Marabout who had enter- 

 tained Lord Rothschild and his party in 1909. 



Between Touggourt and Temacin the desert is of a very 

 diiferent nature from that farther north ; much of the way 

 leads through sand-dunes (Plate V. fig. 1), where only 

 Galerida cristata arenicola was observed. Larg-e tracts of the 

 desert, particularly where the sand is hard, are covered with 

 pieces of gypsum, which sparkle in the sunlight like pieces 



