SASICOLA CATERING '29 



Total length 6 inches, wing 3-60, culmen '60, tarsus 1. 



Adult female, spring, from the Plain of Carthage, North Tunisia. 



Forehead, lores, and a stripe over the eyes pale buff ; ear-coverts 

 brownish-buif; crown, nape, back and scapulars dark buff; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts white, tinged with buff ; the two central rectrices brownish-black, 

 except the basal portion, which is white ; remaining tail-feathers white, 

 broadly tipped with brownish-black ; quills brown ; the secondaries and 

 coverts slightly margined with dark buff; under wing-coverts and axillarles 

 dark brown ; under-surface of the primaries and secondaries greyish-brown 

 and whitish ; chin and throat pale buff, breast warmer buff, becoming darker 

 on the flanks, and lighter on the abdomen, crissum, and under tail-coverts. 



Iris, bill, and feet dark brown. 



Total length 5-75 inches, wing 3*55, culmen -55, tarsus -90. 



Young, apparently about six weeks old, from near the town of Tunis. 



Entire crown, sides of head, nape, and back pale buff, mottled with 

 darker buff; rump and upper tail-coverts white ; tail as in the adult male, 

 except for a whitish fringe at the tip ; quills brown, the secondaries and 

 coverts broadly margined with rufescent-buff ; underparts very pale buff, 

 slightly mottled on breast with a darker buff. Soft parts brown. 



Observations. — In autumn the male of this species assumes a handsome 

 russet-brown attire, the new wing-feathers being conspicuously margined 

 with buff. 



Besides the seasonal variation, there is also a considerable variation in 

 plumage dependent entirely upon age, the tendency in the males being to 

 become whiter and more hoary as they grow older. There is also a slight 

 amount of individual variation, and I have two males of this species in my 

 collection which have no black at all on the forehead and lores, but these 

 cases are no doubt rare and exceptional. 



In the Ibis for 1898 (pp. 624-625) I wrote a short article, pointing 

 out the distinctness of the Black-eared Chat commonly found 

 in North-western Africa and South-western Europe from that 

 occurring in the rest of Southern Europe, in Asia Minor, and in 

 North-eastern Africa, and describing the former as a new species 

 under the name of Saxicola caterince. The following is an extract 

 of what I then wrote, stating in what way the two forms differ from 

 each other : — 



" The Western Black-eared Chat differs from the Eastern bird in 

 the following respects : — 



" (a) The black of the lores does not extend over the base of the 

 bill in a narrow frontal band, this point being of a creamy-white 

 colour, the same as the rest of the crown. 



" (h) The scapulars are cream coloured, and not black. 



