tgii."] of Tunisia and Algeria. * 413 



of glass. Temacin and Zaouia are well worth a visit, as they 

 are purely Saharan villages of very considerable interest. 

 They give one a splendid idea of what a Saharan oasis really 

 is like. Arab life and customs are here quite untouched by 

 French influence or tourists, which can not be said of Biskra 

 or even of Touggourt. Birds were very scarce in Temacin 

 and Zaouia, with the exception of one or two White Wagtails, 

 and Palm-Doves, which were numerous, walking about on 

 the flat roofs of the mud-built houses and also in the streets. 

 A wonderful view of the desert is obtained from the minaret 

 of the Mosque at Temacin (Plate Y . fig. 2), the immense 

 dunes lying between Touggourt and El Oued being plainly 

 visible, while three sheets of water appear not so very 

 far away. 



After a journey such as this into the desert, the bird-life 

 at Biskra strikes one as being remarkably plentiful — Siskins, 

 Blue -Tits, Saharan Buntings ^, Blackbirds j, Hoopoes, 

 Warblers, Wagtails, Swallows, Martins, Sparrows, and 

 Palm-Doves enlivening the oasis, not to speak of the 

 Wheatears, Ohats, and innumerable Larks which can be 

 found in the surroundino- desert vv'ithin ten minutes' walk 

 of the principal hotels. It was therefore with great regret 

 that we finally left Biskra on the 24th of March for the town 

 of Algiers. Crossing the plain of El Outaia, two Cranes and 

 a Black Kite were seen, the former evidently on passage, 

 but the latter breeds in the neighbourhood. An even better 

 view of the Gorge of El Kantara is obtained when ap- 

 proaching it from the south, the remarkable folds in the 

 strata of the hills to the west of the gorge arresting the 

 attention from a long distance : again no Vultures were in 

 sight, but fourteen Irby's Ravens were wheeling in great 

 circles overhead. As we climbed once more into the wild 

 country lying immediately north of the gorge, the moun- 

 tains were lit up by a magnificent sunset and their barren 

 slopes turned to gold and red and purple, a desolate but 

 grand panorama impossible to describe. To what a different 



* Emberiza striolata sahari. 

 t Turdus merula mauritanicus. 



