132 Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker on Tunisian Birds. 



with at the beginning of April, or even earlier, and probably 

 the three clutclies o£ eggs found by me were all of a second 

 laving. At Ras-el-Aioum I shot a young male S. mcesta 

 on the 13th April, which must have been nearly two months 

 old, and at Oglet-Zelles I saw tw^o or three young broods of 

 this species shifting for themselves at the middle of April. 



In the course of my late journey I again met with and 

 secured specimens of Sylvia deserticola, Loxia curvirostra, 

 Ctjpselus affinis, Pterodes coronatus, and of other interesting 

 species which I have previously recorded from Tunisia. 



The Sparrows in some parts of the Regency again puzzled 

 me a little, owing to cases of evident hybridism. I have, 

 however, now no longer any hesitation in saying that 

 Passer salicicola is the common Sparrow of the country, 

 being found generally throughout the whole of Tunisia, 

 while P. domesticus, so far as 1 have been able to ascertain, 

 occurs^ at present, only in the more western districts of the 

 Regency, to which it has probably spread from Algeria. 

 The railway has no doubt been instrumental in contributing 

 towards this diffusion, and it is not unlikely we shall, at no 

 distant date, find P. domesticus quite at home in the town of 

 Tunis, and in other places in the east of the Regency, where 

 it appears now to be wanting. 



"Where the two species P. domesticus and P. salicicola 

 meet, they seem to interbreed freely, so much so that in 

 some of the villages of Western Tunisia a bastard race 

 appears to have been formed, partaking of the characters of 

 both species. 



With regard to P. italia, I am still unable to state posi- 

 tively that it occurs in Tunisia. I have specimens in my 

 collection from Tunis, which certainly resemble this species 

 more than either of the other two ; but I cannot say I have 

 yet come across a typical P. italia in the Regency. 



Finally it may be mentioned that I found the Grey Shrikes, 

 in certain districts of Central Tunis not previously visited by 

 me, varying in shade of plumage-colouring and in markings 

 between Lanius algeriensis and L. elegans, but wdth regard 

 to these I propose making some remarks in a separate paper. 



