140 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



further west, as well as in the small oasis of El-Guettar to the south- 

 east of Gafsa. It does not seem to occur in other oases in Tunisia, 

 and is, indeed, scarcely a bird which one would expect to meet with 

 in palm oases, being probably only found in them on account of the 

 olive and other fruit trees growing there. 



In Algeria P. idtramarimis is common throughout the Atlas 

 districts, and I have also found it abundant in the public gardens 

 at Biskra in the desert. In Marocco the species is likewise plentiful, 

 and I have numerous examples of it both from northern and southern 

 districts. Mr. Meade-Waldo met with it in the Maroccan Atlas 

 at elevations of 7,000 feet above sea-level. In its habits the Ultra- 

 marine Titmouse resembles P. coeruleiis, being active and restless, 

 and frequenting woods and gardens, where it is generally to be seen 

 in small parties, busily engaged in foraging for food. It feeds chiefly 

 upon insects and their larvae, but also eats seeds and berries, and 

 occasionally fruit. It is very pugnacious and quarrelsome, as well 

 as courageous, and anything but shy or timid. Its note most often 

 heard is a grating " zee " repeated two or three times. This species 

 breeds in the holes of old walls and trees, using principally moss and 

 wool in the construction of its nest. The eggs are said to be generally 

 six to eight in number, and of a clear white spotted with reddish- 

 brown, chiefly at the blunt end. Dimensions 15 X 12 mm. Occasion- 

 ally this Tit breeds in holes in the ground, and Mr. Meade- Waldo 

 met with an interesting case of this in the Canary Islands. The hen 

 bird was taken on her nest and kept a captive while it was dug out, 

 examined and replaced, but on being released she immediately flew 

 straight back into the hole (Ihis, 1890, p. 436). 



P. ultramarinus has often been confused with P. tenerifce, Lesson, 

 but the two are fairly distinguishable from each other, the former 

 having its secondary quill-feathers and greater wing-coverts tipped 

 with white, while the latter has no white on those feathers, or, to be 

 exact, has no white on the gi-eater wing- coverts, and generally none 

 on the secondaries, faint whitish tips to the latter being exceptional. 



P. pahnensis, Meade-Waldo, and P. ombriosus, Meade- Waldo, two 

 other forms of the Blue Titmouse found in the Canaries, also resemble 

 P. ultramarinus, but the former differs in having the abdomen white, 

 and the latter in having the lower part of the back and the rump 

 green. 



