434 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Food. — Insects and larvae, but details lacking. Diptera, numerous 

 small coleoptera, also orthoptera. 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — ^Female Holderness coast (Yorks.) 

 Oct. 17, 1885 (W. E. Clarke, P.Z.S., 1885, p. 835), is of this form. 

 Other Desert -Wheatears which we have not examined, are : male, 

 near Alloa (Clackmannan), Nov. 26, 1880 (J. J. Dalgleish, op. cit., 

 1881, p. 453) ; male, near Arbroath (Forfar), Dec. 28, 1887 (H. M. 

 Drummond-Hay, Ibis, 1888, p. 283) ; male " near the sea " (Norfolk) 

 Oct. 31, 1907 (J. H. Gurney, ZooL, 1908, p. 132). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Sahara from Cape Blanco to Natron 

 Valley in Lower Egypt. Replaced by (E. d. deserti in Nubia and 

 north Arabia to southernmost Palestine, by CE. d. albifrons in 

 Central Asia to Khirgiz Steppes. 



179. CEnanthe deserti albifrons (Brandt) — THE EASTERN 



DESERT-WHEATEAR. 



Saxicola albifkons Brandt, Bull. Acad. St. Petersburg, 11, p. 139 (1844 



— W. Siberia). 



Saxicola deserti atrogidaris Blyth, Hartert, Vog. pal. Faima, i, p. 684. 



Description. — Like OS. d. Jiomochroa but more greyish-sandy, 

 not so rich sandy on upper-parts and thus like (E. d. deserti but 

 with more white on inner webs of wing-f eathers, especially noticeable 

 in adult male in wnich white usually extends to shaft of feathers. 

 Measurements.—^ wing 92-101 mm. (one 88), tail 59-67, tarsus 

 25-28, bill from skull 16-18 (12 measured). $ wing 87-97. Larger 

 than (E. d. homochroa but extreme measurements overlap. 



Breeding-habits. — -In Turkestan breeds up to over 12,000 ft. 

 on steppes and sandy plains, nesting in burrows or holes in walls 

 of wells and under bushes. Nest. — Probably similar to that of 

 western race. Eggs. — 3 to 5, pale bluish-green with rusty-red 

 specldes and spots. Average size of 9 eggs, 20.1 X 15 mm. Breed- 

 ing-season. — Eggs in June on highlands of Central Asia. 



Food. — Lynes records ants and other insects, caterpillars and in 

 two cases small seeds in stomach. Dickson and Ross also record 

 ants, and Witherby larvae of ants. 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — -Male Pentland Skerries Light 

 (Orkneys), June 2, 1906 (W. E. Clarke, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1906, 

 p. 138) and male Scotney (Kent), May 21, 1913 (H. W. Ford- 

 Lindsay, Brit. B., VII, p. 117) are of this form. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — From Khirgiz Steppes to Saissansk, 

 Dsungaria, Nan-Shan, Ala-Shan, Ordos, and south Kuku-Nor. 

 (Specimens obtained on Heligoland probably belong to this form.) 

 On migration through south-west Asia to south Arabia, Sokotra, 

 and north-east Africa. 



