282 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



In the lai'ge tract of woodland forming this forest, Mr. Meade-Waldo, 

 in the spring of 1902, found Bustards, presumably of this species, 

 fairly common, and has given some highly interesting notes regarding 

 the birds and their habits {Ibis, 1905, pp. 161-165). Owing to its 

 insecurity this district appears to have been rarely, if ever, visited 

 before by Europeans, and probably a considerable portion of the 

 forest still remains unexplored by the naturalist. According to 

 Mr. Meade- Waldo, the Forest of Marmora and the adjoining 

 districts, though not particularly rich in species of birds, are 

 frequented by the Guinea-Fowl {Numida meleagris), the Two-spurred 

 Francolin {Francolinus hicalcaratus) , and the Bald Ibis {Cornatihis 

 eremita), as well as the Large Bustard mentioned above. 



Mr. Edward Dodson, when collecting for me in Marocco in 1897, 

 on quitting the river Seboo, travelled in a south-easterly direction 

 to Fez, and then turning westward, and taking Mequinez on the way, 

 reached the coast at Rabat. He appears thus to have skirted round 

 the east and south sides of this wooded region, which, judging from 

 Mr. Meade-Waldo's description, must be one of the most interesting 

 in all Marocco to the ornithologist. 



OTIS TETRAX, Linnaeus. 

 LITTLE BUSTARD. 



Otis tQiv&x, Linn. Si/st. Nat. i, p. 264 (1766) ; Malherbc, Cat. Bais. d'Ois. 



Alg. p. 19 (1846) ; Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 267 ; id. J. f. 0. 1893, p. 81 ; 



Whiiakcr, Ibis, 1894, p. 99. 

 Tetrax tetrax, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Miis. xxiii, p. 287 ; Erlangcr, 



J. f. O. 1900, p. 51. 

 Tetrax campestris, Loche, ExjjI. Sci. Alg. Ois. ii, p. 251 (1867). 



Description. — Adult male, spring, from North Tunisia. 



Forehead and a stripe over the eye, buff streaked with black ; crown 

 sandy-brown, mottled with black ; throat, sides of head and nape bluish- 

 slate, this colour extending down the middle of the fore-neck to a point ; 

 below this a narrow white collar encircles the neck ; lower part of the neck 

 black ; the remainder of the upper-plumage sandy-brown, pencilled and 

 vermiculated with black; outer tail-coverts and tail-feathers white, marked 

 with black ; primaries dark brown, and white at the base ; secondaries 

 white ; on the breast below the black neck-coUar is a broad white pectoral 



