( 26 ) 



Next moi'iiiug Apn-s mur'uMs brchmorum was shot amoiii; tlie rocks east of 

 the town, where they ni'stod, together with Oenontlie leucojujga. We travelled 

 to the well of iSidi-Miihiuond, which, however, has very bad, bmekish water, 

 hardly drinkable, and better avoided. On a sort of [datean, near some stony 

 bills, where the soil was sandy but covered with many flat stones, Eremojihila 

 (Otocori/s) hilopha and Uhrimphnc.oryx clot-bei/ were enconntered. and we were 

 able to collect young in tii'st plumage of both. 



On the 8th we reached the great sand-i>Iain of Ei-Arich, where we cam]ied in 

 a lovely place, without water. It is all sand (but no dnnes), with large bushes of 

 Retama. vaeiam, Drin {Aiistida pungens), Dhomran {Traganum nudat,um), and many 

 other i)lants. This place is a real El-Dorado for an ornithologist, Sglcia nana 

 ilcserti, Scotoci'rca inqtiicta saliarae, Alaemon alaiidipea, Ammomfuies phocnicuriuf 

 arciucolor, Galcrida theklac deichlcri, Capr'nmdgm aeggptius sahirae,, Cui:ioriii.<i 

 being common. Unfortunately, however, it was too late for us : they all had 

 young, and the old birds had such a worn plumage that they were of little nse for 

 comparison. We found many nests of Syle/a nana dcaerti, bnt all empty, the 

 young flown ont, or with nnked young ; in one nest, however, two addled eggs 

 were found with two yonng birds. The number of eggs is three to four. 



A rare lizard, Agamn tourneriUei, was common, and replaced the ordinary 

 Agama inermis of the liiimmadn, A large Buprestid beetle, Julodis desert icola, 

 was common on the Hetam, and so were cases with nearly fnll-grown cater- 

 jiillars of Amgcto miirinn mdiiretdiiira. Under the circumstances we did not stay 

 more than a night, and proeccdi^d to El-Alia, a little oasis among low sand- 

 dunes, at the font of some stony hills. It reminded ns a good deal of El-Oned, 

 with its palm groves and village, half buried in the sand, but some large, flne 

 buildings were visible in the distance, the seat of a rich " Marabu," the successor 

 of the hnndred-ycar-old Marabu who died some fifteen years ago. A hot and 

 strong south wind was blowing, and we had an anxious night, our tent hardly 

 withstanding the force of the gale. Api(S mur/it'/s bre/imorum and Passer .limplex 

 aa/txr/ic were observed. 



The palms are here grown in a i>ocnliar manner, being planted each in its own 

 deep hole, so as to reach down to moist soil. 



In the morning the Marabu sent us coffee, milk, and little cakes, with kind 

 wishes for the journey. After crossing some dunes we came into a long and 

 uninteresting sebcha, tiien again into sand with enormous bushes of JJmoniaxtnim ; 

 and here, in the middle of sand and nothing but sand, Ammomanes phoenictirus 

 urciiicolor, which is generally a bird of the hanimada if not too barren, was common, 

 side by side with Galerida theklae. deichleri and Ckij/rimulgns aegi/ptiua xaharae. 

 We camped at a well called "Hassi Dinar," with a small quantity of very bad, 

 brackish water, and had another night of sirocco, the sand, of course, blowing 

 thickly through the air. 



On the Ilth we rearhed Bledet-Ahmar, bnt we came from the west and did 

 not see our former campiiig-]ilace. We occupied some forsaken buildings on top 

 of a hill, said to be the property of a Sheikh. Near the village was still a large 

 sheet of water where Charadrius alexandrinus were common, ohl with full-grown 

 young. 



On the 12th we entered Tonggourt, passing through slippery sebcha and 

 through the town of Temacin, where we saw, for the first time since leaving 

 Ouargla, lled-headed Sparrows. 



