4 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



The Mistle-Thrush is an early breeder, and generally rears two 

 broods in the course of a season. The fork of a tree is nearly always 

 selected as a site for its nest, this being roughly constructed of dry 

 grasses and fine roots, cemented together with mud. The eggs, as 

 a rule, four or five in number, have the ground colour light greenish- 

 grey, with a few pale lilac under-lying shell marks, and rusty brown 

 spots and blotches, irregularly distributed over the surface. Average 

 measurements, 29 X 21 mm. 



TURDUS MUSICUS, Linnaeus. 

 SONG-THRUSH. 



Turdus musicus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 292 (1766) ; Seebohm, Cat. 

 Birds Brit. Mus. v, p. 191 ; Malherbe, Cat. Bais. d'Ois. Alg. p. 9 

 (1846) ; Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 186 (1867) ; Eoenig, J. f. 0. 

 1888, p. 212 ; Whitaker, Ibis, 1894, p. 86 ; Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1899, 

 p. 249. 



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



Above uniform olive-brown, the upper wing-coverts tipped with buff; 

 lores and superciliary stripes creamy-buff; ear-coverts and cheeks thickly 

 streaked with dark brown ; a distinct dark brown moustachial stripe ; throat 

 creamy-white ; breast the same, but tinged with golden-buff ; the greater 

 part of the under-surface spotted with dark brown, more thickly so on the 

 abdomen and crissum ; axillariea and under wing-coverts golden-buff. 



Iris brown ; bill horn-brown, yellowish at the base of the lower mandible ; 

 feet yellowish-flesh colour. 



Total length about 875 inches, wing 4-75, culmen -75, tarsus 1-30. 



Adult female similar to male, l)ut rather smaller. 



The Song-Thrush is to be met with in winter in large numbers 

 throughout the mountainous and wooded regions of Northern and 

 Central Tunisia, and also, though more sparingly, in the south of the 

 Eegency. In Tunisia, as in the rest of North-west Africa, the 

 species seem to be merely a winter visitant, arriving in October and 

 November, and leaving again towards the end of March and beginning 

 of April. It is possible that a few individuals may remain to breed 

 in the higher woods of the Tell, or more northern region, where water 



