22 BIRDS OP TUNISIA 



morsel, and large numbers of these birds used once to be snared in 

 Enf^land, as well as in other countries, for the table. 



In its habits the common Wheatear is an active, lively bird, and, 

 being very restless, is perhaps more often noticed on the wing than 

 perching. When in this latter position it is almost invariably to be 

 seen on a stone or rock, and not on a bush or other plant, as is the 

 case with some other members of the genus. Stony spots generally 

 are affected by this species, and the old Eoman ruins, so plentiful in 

 Tunisia, seem to have a special attraction for these birds. The 

 Wheatear's flight is probably more powerful than it appears to be, 

 and when the bird is actually on migration, can be sustained for 

 a considerable length of time. 



The food of this species, like that of most of the Chats, is almost 

 entirely composed of insects. 



Its song is rather insignificant, and one more often hears the 

 simple " chat, chat " of the bird than any other of its notes. 



During the nesting season, in those countries in which it breeds, 

 S. cenanthe is often met with at a considerable elevation, and I have 

 found the species abundant in summer in the Upper Engadine, at 6,000 

 feet above sea-level. In Sicily it retires to the higher mountains of 

 the interior for the breeding season, and is not then to be met with 

 in the lower-lying country. 



In Europe nests of this species are generally found in holes in 

 rough broken ground, or among rocks, and are shallow structures 

 composed principally of dry grasses and rootlets, with a slight lining 

 of hair or wool. The eggs, four to six in number, are of a delicate 

 pale greenish-blue, sometimes spotless, but more often with a few 

 dark red specks on them. Average measurements 20 X 15 mm. 



I am unable to include in my list of Tunisian birds the rare 

 Saxicola seehohmi, as up to the present time at any rate, the species 

 has not been met with within the limits of the Regency. As, how- 

 ever, it occurs in the Aures Mountains in Algeria, it is quite possible 

 that it may be found on some of the higher mountains further east, 

 which are but a continuation of the Atlas chain, and I shall not be 

 surprised should this eventually prove to be the case, although this 

 rang« in Tunisia does not attain the same altitude that it does in 

 Algeria and Marocco. 



From Marocco I have three examples of S. seehohmi, which were 

 obtained in 1897 by Mr. Dodson, at Tilula and Zarakten in the Western 



