98 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



I have no note of the occurrence of M. deserticohis in Tripoli, but 

 this is not surprising, considering the desert character of that country, 

 with its lack of wooded mountains and, above all, of the " maquis " 

 vegetation so attractive to this and allied Warblers. 



Like Moussier's Eedstart, Tristram's Warbler seems to shift its 

 quarters to a certain extent, its habitat throughout the spring and 

 summer months being undoubtedly the Atlas region, while in winter 

 it frequents the oases and bushy districts of the Algerian and 

 Tunisian Sahara. Whether it deserts the Atlas region entirely in 

 winter I do not know, bat apparently it occurs in the Saharan districts 

 only during that season, and never in siuumer. By the end of March 

 it is certainly to be found in its breeding quarters, and the first 

 specimens I obtained were procured at that season in the hilly country 

 lying between Feriana and El-Oubira. Throughout that district 

 M. deserticohis is by no means uncommon, and I collected several 

 examples of it in full breeding plumage during the month of April, 

 and met with young birds able to fly in the early part of May. On 

 the Djebel Selloum, near Kasrin, M. deserticohis also occurs, although 

 not so abundantly as further west. 



Like its congeners, M. iiiidatits and M. sardiis, Tristram's Warbler 

 loves a "maquis" growth, and this it finds in abundance on the slopes 

 and hillsides of the Atlas. Many of these districts are thickly clothed 

 with a bush vegetation, among the most characteristic plants of which 

 may be mentioned the juniper, thuja, dwarf ilex oak, rosemary, 

 lavender, and different species of broom. The Aleppo pine (P. hale- 

 pensis) also flourishes here in some places, forming tolerably thick 

 woods, while in others it is merely represented by a few trees cropping 

 up here and there among the undergrowth. 



In its habits M. deserticohis, as already mentioned, greatly resembles 

 the Dartford Warbler, and is a bright, active little bird, frequenting 

 as a rule thick bushes, but owing to its restlessness, and perhaps to its 

 inquisitiveness, being constantly in evidence. It is fond of perching 

 conspicuously on the top of a shrub, from which it pours forth its 

 short but sweet and pleasing song. This is also uttered at times by 

 the bird when on the wing, as it hovers for a few seconds over a 

 bush, where, perhaps, its nest is concealed. 



Its flight is rather feeble and wavering. The food of the species, 

 like that of its congeners, consists chiefly of small worms, cater- 

 pillars and insects of various kinds. 



