( 41 ) 



fridentrita (twice — see plate). In l'.((IO I found a nest in a low date-palm, while 

 Koenig discovered several in the stone walls of wells. 



On March 28 Ahmed ben-Saya fonnd a nest with iive fairly hard-set eggs, of 

 which he broke one. The four remaining eggs are rather light, three being of a 

 pale cream colour with ]>ale brownish grey patches and spots of varying sizes, the 

 fourth white with similar but more pronounced and more compact patches, and 

 underlying paler ones. 



They measure 19-2 x 13-it, 10-2 x 13-6, 19-4 x l:V9 and 19'6 x 13-9 mm. 



On May 19 1 fonnd a nest under the roof, on a rafter, of the Bordj El-Khoua, 

 north of El-Golea. It contained five dark-coloured eggs, only one being lighter, 

 with the whitish ground-colour visible between the numerous large dark brown 

 blotches : the other four are ])ale cliocolate with chocolate jiatches and spots. They 

 were about half incubated, and measure 10-S x 13-9, 19'9 x 13-9, 195 x 13'5, 

 19-S X 13-U, and 2U x 13-S mm. 



On May 12 and 13 one addled egg each was fonnd with half-grown young, in 

 " Gmiras " ; one is chocolate, the other whitish with pale ashy markings ; they 

 measure I8'3 x l-i'l, and 18'5 x 13-7.5 mm. 



On May 12, 22 and 23 young desert Sparrows, .some quite young and naked, 

 some ready to leave the nest, which flew away when one opened the nest up, were 

 found. They are of the colour of the old female, on the upper side sand-coloured, 

 and without the black throat of the adult male, both sexes being alike. 



The number of eggs and young varies very much, as we found twice only one 

 single naked young bird in the nests, once two, but mostly three to five eggs or 

 young. 



[Emberiza palustris palustris Savi 



A specimen of this bird (perhaps not subspecies of pyn-ludoides !) which I 

 e.xamined was shot among the reeds of the Oued Biskra, near Biskra, 22. ii. 19(j5, 

 by Mr. Ussher, and is now in the Dublin Museum.] 



(3. "Emberiza hortulana L. 



Cf. yoe. Zrml. .xviii. p. 483. 



An adnlt male was shot — evidently on migration — on April 10, 30 km. north 

 of Ain Gnettara, and another bird ajjparently of this species was seen near that 

 place. 



7. Emberiza striolata sahari Lev. 



Cf. .Voc. Znul. xviii. p. 484. 



AVe did not find this bird in the Southern oases, bnt it was very common 

 rotnid about Gharilaia. According to Kohlfs (Jieine (hiicli ifarokko, I8(o0) this 

 bird is common in Tatilet and other oases south of the Maroccan Atlas, where it, is 

 called " Bou-Shamm," i.e. " father of fat," bnt it is not fonnd in Tiiat and 

 Tidikelt. 



8. Rhamphocorys clot-bey Bp. 



Cf. Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 484. 



We had hojied to find this interesting Lark in many places of the Hamniada, 

 bnt we only came across it twice, near Bordj (Uiegga, where a small flock was seen 

 in February, and again on .June 7, east of (Juorrara, in the Mziib country. It was 

 on a sandy plain with inimerons flat stones, and a few stony hills near by. There 

 were two flocks of young birds, being led by their parents, and one or two 



