212 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



The Eock-SpaiTow breeds as a rule in holes in cliffs or old walls, 

 and the nest is composed of straw or dry grasses, with a little wool, 

 plentifully lined with feathers and hair. The eggs, four or five in 

 number, greatly resemble those of the common House-Sparrow. 



Baron v. Erlanger considers the Kock-Sparrow of Tunisia 

 sufficiently different from typical P. petronia (L.) to merit subspecific 

 distinction, and has separated it under the name of P. petronia 

 harhara (J. f. O. 1899, p. 481). After careful comparison of my 

 Tunisian specimens with a large series of Eock-Sparrows from different 

 parts of Europe, I cannot say I find sufficient grounds for this distinc- 

 tion. There is certainly a slight difference in colour between examples 

 from South Tunisia and those from Europe, but it is extremely slight, 

 while the measurements are about the same in both. Examples from 

 Northern and Central Tunisia are identical in every way with some 

 from South Europe. 



P. puteicola (Festa), from Palestine, differs far more from typical 

 P. petronia (L.), and has perhaps rightly been separated from it, 

 although it is scarcely entitled to full specific rank. Prof. Arrigoni 

 degli Oddi has recently separated the Sardinian Eock-Sparrow from 

 tyT^ical P. petronia (L.) under the name of P. 'petronia hellmaijri. I 

 have not myself seen any examples of the Eock-Sparrow from Sardinia. 



1 



FRINGILLA C(£LEBS, Linnasus. 

 CHAFFINCH. 



Fringilla coelebs, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 318 (1766) ; Sharpc, Cat. Birds 

 Bnt. Mus. xii, p. 171 ; Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 143 (1867) ; 

 Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 233 ; id. J. f. 0. 1892, p. 303 ; id. J. f. 0. 1893, 

 p. 55 ; Whitaker, Ibis, 1894, p. 91. 



Description. — Adult male, winter, from Tunis, North Tunisia. 



Forehead black ; crown, nape and sides of neck dull bluish-grey, slightly 

 washed with brown ; back and scapulars chestnut-brown ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts green ; middle pair of rectrices dark grey, the two outer pairs 

 white, excepting the terminal portion of outer web and the basal portion 

 of inner web, which are black ; the next adjoining pair with only a white 

 patch on the terminal portion of inner web ; the remaining tail-feathers 

 black ; quills dark brown, slightly fringed on outer webs with light green ; 



