PASSER MONTANUS 207 



beginning of April, the males and females taking an equal share in 

 the construction of the nest. The birds here seemed very fearless, 

 some of them actually building their nests under the eaves of a low 

 verandah attached to a crowded French cafe, at a height of only nine 

 or ten feet from the ground, and continuing their work apparently 

 regardless of the noisy throng just below them. It is, indeed, curious 

 that this Sparrow, so shy and suspicious in the open country, should 

 become so fearless and confiding when inhabiting a town. 



In most of its habits the present species does not differ from the 

 two preceding, and its notes appear to be similar. The nests and 

 eggs I examined also resembled those of P. domesticus. 



PASSER MONTANUS (Linnsus). 

 TEEE-SPARROW. 



Fringilla montana, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 324 (1766). 



Passer montanus, Koch, Sijst. baier. Zool. p. 219 (1816) ; Sharpe, Cat. 



Birds Brit. Mus. xii, p. 301 ; '[VJiitakcr, Ibis, 1898, p. 126 ; Erlanger, 



J. f. 0. 1899, p. 478. 

 Pyrgita montana, Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 136 (1867). 



Description.— Adult male, spring, from Carthage, North Tunisia. 



Crown and nape dull chocolate ; back buff-brown, striped with black ; 

 lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts buff-brown ; tail grey-brown, with 

 lighter margins ; wings grey-brown, fringed on the outer webs with bufl- 

 brown, wing-covei'ts tipped with whitish, presenting a double alar bar ; 

 narrow frontal line, lores, patch below the eye, hinder part of ear-coverts, 

 chin and throat black ; remainder of ear-coverts, cheeks and sides of neck 

 dull white, this colour extending partly in a collar behind the nape ; rest of 

 underparts greyish-white, washed with buff-brown on the flanks and under 

 tail-coverts. 



Iris dark brown ; bill black ; feet pale brown. 



Total length 5-25 inches, wing 2-85, culmen -40, tarsus "GS. 



Adult female similar to the male. 



This is by no means a common species in the Eegency, and I have 

 only a solitary example of it, which was obtained in the neighbourhood 

 of Carthage. Blanc, the Tunis naturalist, tells me that the local bird- 



