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150 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



April. After that date a few individuals may be met with, but I 

 am unable to say whether the species breeds in the Regency or not. 

 Blanc, the Tunis naturalist, is of opinion that it does not do so, giving 

 as a reason the fact of his not having met with the species in any 

 part of Tunisia after the month of May, whereas M. cinereocapilla, 

 according to him, is abundant there in the month of June. Baron 

 von Erlanger, on the other hand, thinks that the present species does 

 nest in the Eegency, as he has met with it in pairs and not in flocks 

 as late as the middle of May. 



In Algeria M. flava is common both north and south of the Atlas. 

 Dr. Koenig found it abundant in the Algerian Sahara, and Loche 

 says the species is plentiful in Algeria during the periods of passage, 

 and is also sedentary there to a certain extent. In Marocco it is 

 common in spring, and I have examples of the species obtained as 

 late as the month of May. Mr. Edward Dodson, when travelling in 

 Tripoli, met with the Blue-headed Wagtail in considerable numbers 

 in April at Bonjem and its vicinity, and found the famine-stricken 

 residents of those districts subsisting to a great extent upon the flesh 

 of these birds, which were caught in snares and greedily devoured. 



M. flava frequents low-lying plains and moist meadows, as well 

 as cattle-pastures and localties in the vicinity of water, where flies 

 and other insects are numerous. 



Grazing herds are sure to attract these birds, on account of the 

 swarms of gnats and small flies which collect around them, and it is 

 an interesting sight to see the birds threading their way in and out 

 between the feet of the cattle or horses with the utmost fearlessness 

 and self-assurance. For the same reason these Wagtails often 

 accompany a travelling caravan for a considerable distance. 



In most of its habits M. flava resembles other members of the 

 group, although it is perhaps the least shy of them all. In its flight 

 and movements it is particularly graceful and adroit. Its ordinary 

 note appears to be a simple " zi-zi." 



