76 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



obtains its food entirely there, its diet consisting chiefly of beetles and 

 worms. Kather shy than otherwise, this Warbler would probably 

 often escape notice, were it not for its extreme restlessness and bright 

 plumage. Its fine song, too, cannot fail to attract attention, and excite 

 the curiosity of the listener to discover the sweet songster. The song 

 of this Warbler is composed of some particularly melodious notes and 

 is most varied, being at times very powerful, and at others soft and 

 murmuring. It is rather difficult to give any proper rendering of it, 

 but the syllables " wheet-a-wheet," repeated two or three times rather 

 loudly, and then followed by a soft "twee-twee, twee, twee," may 

 perhaps convey an idea of it. 



A. galactodes breeds throughout Northern and Central Tunisia, 

 and probably also in some of the southern oases. Its nest is generally 

 placed in a cactus clump, but occasionally in some other thick bush, 

 and as a rule at a height of from one to six feet from the ground. It 

 is loosely built of grasses and rootlets, plentifully lined with wool and 

 hair, and very often has a piece of snake-skin in it, though with what 

 object this is placed there by the bird it is difficult to say. Possibly 

 it may be for no other reason than that which leads some other birds 

 to introduce bits of rag or similar soft materials into their nests, but 

 on the other hand, it is quite possible that the snake's skin may 

 possess some scent or other property which serves to keep off some 

 of the bird's natural enemies. 



The eggs are generally four or five in number and of a greenish- 

 white colour, spotted and streaked with reddish-brown and grey 

 markings. Average measurements 22 x 16 mm. 



Canon Tristram states (Ihis, 1867, p. 81) that the eggs of this 

 species which he collected in Palestine differ considerably in their 

 markings from those which he took in Algeria, the distinction being 

 perfectly constant, as shown by a comparison of large series of both. 

 This is an interesting fact, pointing as it does to the influence of 

 environment, and possibly also of climate, on egg-coloration. The 

 birds themselves found in the two countries appear to be identical 

 in every way. 



