18.2 Mr. H. F. Witherby on 



the distinctions used was the size of the first primary, which 

 in T. m. algirus he stated was longer than the primary- 

 coverts, while in T. m. cabrera it was equal and in typical 

 T. merula shorter. I find the length of the first primary 

 variable. The female of the Algerian bird was unknown to 

 Herr Madarasz at the time that he described the male. 



Blackbirds were well distributed but not common in the 

 north of Algeria. They were very shy and much more 

 silent than our home birds. The alarm-note was not so 

 frequently uttered, and was even harsher than that of the 

 English species. The song was shorter, more broken, and not 

 so sweet. A nest with eggs was found in a bush at an 

 altitude of about G000 feet in the Little Atlas on May 18th. 



Saxicola lugens halophila. 



Erlanger, J. f. O. 1899, p. 231 ; Whitaker, Bull. 15. O. C. 

 xiii. p. 15. 



$ ad., ? ad., <$ ad. Biskra, March 10. 



The interesting distinction between the female of this 

 western form and that of typical S. lugens has been clearly 

 pointed out both by the late Freiherr von Erlanger and by 

 Mr. Whitaker, but I have been unable to compare females 

 of typical S. lugens. The male of typical S. lugens has rusty 

 under tail-coverts, while in S. halophila they are Avhite or 

 nearly white, but otherwise the males of the two species are 

 alike. We found this bird at Biskra only, where it was 

 fairly common ou the edge of the desert. Unlike most 

 Wheatearsj it was decidedly tame. Mr. Whitaker ('Ibis/ 

 1895, p. 94) writes of it as shy and retiring. 



Saxicola ueserti Temm. 



£ ad. Biskra, March 11. 



This specimen is decidedly small, the wing measuring only 

 3*5 inches. The buff tips to the feathers below the nape 

 are worn, so that the black of the basal half of the feathers 

 is shown to such an extent as to form an indistinct nuchal 

 band. 



This species we found only near Biskra, and not commonly. 



