Mr. J. J. S. Whitaker on some Tunisian Birds. 83 



hysenas and a wild boar. Saxicola leiicura, Ruticilla moussieri, 

 Ammomanes deserti, and Alauda macrorliyncha were common 

 about here, and I also saw one or tw^o specimens of Lanius 

 dealhatus, and a pair of Alpine Swifts (Cypselns melba). 



On the 11th of March we left for Oglet-Alima, where we 

 encamped near some water-holes dug by the Arabs in the 

 dry bed of the Oued Seldja, a branch of the river Melah. 

 I may here remark, en jjossani, that these southern rivers 

 are nearly always dry ; it is only after very heavy rains that 

 they have any water in them. On the journey from El Araissa 

 I secured specimens of the following birds, viz., Saxicola 

 mcesta, S. deserti, S. stajjazina, Lanius dealbatus, Ammo- 

 manes deserti, Alauda macrorhyncha, Pterocles arenarius, 

 and Eudromias morineJIus. I also shot a jackal in the act of 

 stalking some gazelles, which I had not previously noticed. 



The next morning about 7 o'clock I saw several flocks of 

 Sand-Grouse flying overhead, which proved to be Pterocles 

 coronatus coming to drink at the Avater-holes, and I soon 

 obtained nine specimens. Later on in the day I saw several 

 small flocks of P. arenarius, but, except for an occasional 

 straggler, P. coronatus had disappeared from this locality 

 after 10 o'clock. Besides Sand-Grouse I got a few more 

 Chats, Larks, Greenfinches, and Desert Bullfinches here ; 

 but my small supply of shot-cartridges was rapidly coming 

 to an end, so I was obliged to economize my ammunition 

 as much as possible, and to disregard all except the rarer 

 species. On the 13th of March I shot a few more Sand-Grouse 

 (P. coronatus) , which were back at the water-holes again, and 

 then started for Tamerza, our road lying across sandy plains 

 covered with scrub- vegetation and thorn-bushes. I here 

 saw a good many small birds, though nothing new, and I 

 also observed two or three Eagles, but without being able to 

 identify the species. Tamerza was reached in the afternoon, 

 and we were allotted the usual guest-house, which, however, 

 was here little better thau a stable. The town, if it can be 

 dignified by that name, is eminently Arab, without a single 

 European inhabitant; the houses are mere hovels, for the most 

 part built of loose rabble, with a thick plastering of mud to 



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