(22 ) 



Cerastes coriiuUs, which at tbaf, time seemed to live entirely un birds— viz. 

 Motacllhi flara thiinhergi atid PhijUoxcopi. 



Uii Jlay 12 wo ciimjied aj^aiii in the pretty valley of Okseiliat, near El-(iolea. 

 Here, as elsewhere, we were struck with the great iiimilier of migrants. \Ve s(iil 

 observed: Caprimiilgm riijkollh (lesertoruin, Si/lma hortenisi.i hortenish {orphea 

 aiict. !), Ilippolais poh/glotta, Muscicapa s'riatn, Saxicola {Pratincola auct.) rubctrn, 

 I'lii/lloscojias, Oriolus oriolm, Chdidnn rmtica, lUmmh urbk-a, Riparia rijiaria, 

 and MotarillaJ/ara thunhergi. All these birds were uiidoubtedly still on migration. 

 In a bush of Sitraria triilcntata we found a nest with young of I'dn.vr simpler. 



Un May 14 we entered once more the little Paradise of El-Golea, and took np 

 our old (juavtcrs in the house of our friend Lieut. Mairc-Sobille. The gardens were 

 full of apricots and mulberries, and a few figs (rather dry) and peaches were also 

 ripe. Needless to say, we enjoyed them more than was good for us, and still more, 

 perhaps, the lovely swiraming-batli under the fruit-ladon trees in the olHcers' 

 gardens. 



The gardens were still full of birds of passage. The Sco]is-owls had left, 

 thongli a single pair or two had remained, evidently to breed. Turtledoves, 

 Flycatchers, Whinchats, Ilippolais opaca, Sgkia hortensis {orplim anct.), Lanius 

 colliirio and senator, Orioles, Phoenirnrun pliornicurux, f^i/lcia cnmni'inis (cinerca 

 auct.), Si/lria horiii, all three Swallows, Phiilloncopm sihilalrij:, M'iscicnpn roUaris, 

 Motarilla ,ffac(( tJuuibergi, Caprimnlgua niJiroUis descrtorum, C europnciis miridio- 

 nalis, Triiiga {Tolanus auct.) hypolruca, stagnalilis, ocrop/tus, Artlelta minuta, 

 Nycticorax wjcticorax, Glareola pratincola, Iliplrochelidoii leucoptrra, Acrocrphalus 

 schociiobarims. All these birds were certainly on migration, but the following 

 species might have been breeding : 



Aqrnbates galactotes — not rare, lustily singing, but no nest found : llippnlnis 

 reiscri — behaved as if they were at home, and as they certainly breed in Tonggonrt 

 might have been breeding here as well ; FuUca atra — seen on the lake, according 

 to the officers staying all the year round; Circux arn/gi/ios'in — n pair seen on 

 the lake; Acrnccplialufi strcperns — common in the reeds: imdoubtedly too early 

 for eggs, testicles and ovaries not very much developed ; possibly breeding, but 

 we are inclined to doubt whether any of these birds nest at El-tJolea, e.\cej)t 

 Fulica atra — and of that we have no proof. Even in the case of Agrobnles and 

 Hij>j)Olais rtiseri it is doubtful, and in spite of all our searching we never saw 

 an old nest, except of Sparrows, which are exceedingly numerous. 



On May \'^ we left El-Golea for Ghardaia, accompanied for some distance 

 by our kind host and the garrison doctor. It was hot, the thermometer showing 

 a maximum of at least 4.5 in the shade. We camped in a sandy plain, with 

 stones and patches of bare rock, the vegetation being fairly rich and of the 

 type peculiar to tlio sandy districts, but without bushes. The '' Muka" (.^l/«f/«o« 

 alaudipes) was common, and we fonnd a nest with two fresh eggs. On the 

 following day we marched to the well-kej)t Bordj of El-Kliona, where we had a 

 great pleasure. Under the roof nested a pair of Passer simpliu: saharae, and we 

 took from the nest five almost fresh eggs. Here began Euphorbia gayoniana, and 

 on the first plants seen were caterpillars of Celerio euphorbiae desrrficola. 



Some twenty kilometres after El-Golea the country began to look pleasanter ; 

 smootli, almost glossy white rocky ground was covered with sand, generally thinly, 

 but sometimes as thick as four metres, and GratiiiiKiceai' as well as Hctuma rartam 

 abounded. In jilaces the country reminded me of the " Hants Plateaux," thongh 



