from Morocco and the Great Alius. 199 



lotus and acacia a few miles away. Many gazelles (Gazella 

 cuvieri) frequent this country. 



In the neighbourhood of Beni Meskin the heat was 

 intense, ranging from 116° to 95°; and camping on the hot 

 >tones in a gale of hot wind was so unpleasant that we moved 

 on towards the river, passing through a very nice valley of 

 tall zizyphus and acacia, and, for the first time since leaving 

 Rabat, coming across the Moorish Magpie (Pica mauritanica) . 



We crossed the river Wad Moorbey : this is Oom-er-rebia 

 in the maps, but I believe that my spelling is correct, or as 

 near as can be got to the Arabic sound, for the Sultan himself 

 assured me that it was so. The river is a very fine rapid 

 stream, with a great volume of Avater of a bright brick-red 

 colour. There was little or no cultivation on its banks, 

 which were fringed with tamarisk. There were a few very 

 poor Arab duars on the south side, but the north side 

 appeared almost depopulated, with nearly all the villages 

 in ruins. We followed the south bank eastward for a 

 short distance, and camped on a low hill at what would have 

 been an excellent collecting-ground two months earlier in 

 the year. A good many birds frequented this part ; a low 

 cliff was full of Bald Ibises, and a pair of Barbary Falcons 

 had a nest and young. I saw the little light blue Tiercel 

 with his buff nape stoop at and bind on to a Neophron 

 that floated past the cliff, and both he and his mate used 

 to fly at the Bald Ibises and knock them about shamefully. 

 Little Ringed Plovers (JEffial/tis curonica) were breeding 

 commonly along the banks, and I have described as new * 

 a small Sand-Martin (Cotilc mauritanica) which was very 

 common. These birds were in full moult, and I saw no 

 young in the first half of June, so they must have bred 

 very early. A Pied Wagtail from this locality (Motacillu 

 .subpersonuta) has also been described as new; it was in 

 pairs with nearly full-grown young, evidently bred on the 

 banks of the river. 



The most abundant bird was undoubtedly the Rufous 

 Warbler (Acdon uulaclodes) — that is, with the exception of 

 * Bull. B. 0. C. xii. p. 27. 



