Introduction xv. 



highways for the passage of our feathered travellers to and fro between 

 the Eiu-opean and African Continents. There are indeed several 

 localities in the Tunisian Eegency which would form admirable 

 ornithological stations for the study and observation of migration. 



The Eegency also appears to form the meeting point of some of 

 the eastern and western Paleearctic birds, thus we find in Tunisia such 

 eastern forms -dsSaxicola stapazina, Saxicola melanoleuca ,a.nd Hijpolais 

 icterina, which either do not occur or are rare, further west, and on 

 the other hand, such western forms as Saxicola caterince, Saxicola 

 occidentalis and Hypolais polyglotta, which do not occur, or are rare, 

 further east. 



With regard to nidification and alimentation, two other important 

 factors in the economy of bird-life, I have given such information as 

 lies in my power when treating of the several species individually in 

 the body of this work. 



The number of species and subspecies of birds included in this 

 work as belonging to the Tunisia Avifauna is about 365. Of most of 

 these my collection contains examples which have been obtained either 

 by myself, when travelling in the Regency, or have been collected for 

 me by M. Marius Blanc, a French naturalist resident in Tunis for 

 many years. 



Those species included in my list, of which I do not actually 

 possess specimens, have either been observed by myself or my 

 collectors, or are recorded on good authority in other ornithological 

 works. A few species are also included which, though not actually 

 recorded as having occurred in the Regency, are believed to be found 

 there. 



Most of the information given regarding the occurrence and life 

 of the several species in Tunisia is first hand, and the result of 

 personal observation during the various journeys I have made in the 

 Regency, but in some cases I have had to rely on the information 

 kindly supplied me by others, foremost among whoni I may mention 

 Mr. 0. V. Aplin of Bloxham, Oxon, who collected for me in Tunisia 

 between the months of January and June, 1895, and M. Blanc of 

 Tunis. To Mr. Edward Dodson also I am indebted for valuable 

 information regarding the birds of Marocco and Tripoli, in both of 

 which countries he spent several months collecting for me, and in 

 the course of his travels visited districts rarely, if ever, previously 

 explored by Europeans. To each of these gentlemen I beg to express 

 my gratitude and thanks. 



