448 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



DISTRIBUTION. England. Male and female near Rye Harbour 

 (Sussex) seen Aug. 31, 1909, and shot Sept. 2 and 16 respectively 

 (ut supra). Male seen (subspecies unknown) Fair Isle (Shetlands) 

 Sept. 28-30, 1912 (W. E. Clarke and Duchess of Bedford, Scot. Nat., 

 1913, p. 26). 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Portugal and Spain, Riviera, and, ap- 

 parently, in Sicily, but not in Greece. Replaced by (E. I. syeniiica 

 in north -west Africa. 



185. (Enanthe leucura syenitica (Heugl.). THE NORTH 

 AFRICAN BLACK WHEATEAR. 



SAXICOLA SYENITICA Heuglai, Journ. f. Orn., 1869, p. 155 (El-Kab in 



Upper Egypt. Type examined by Hartert). 



(Enanthe teucura syeniiica, T Parkin, Brit. B., ix, p. 200. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male. Like that of (E. I. leucura but consider- 

 ably more tinged with brown, especially on crown, fore-part of 

 which in first winter and summer birds is often brown ; feathers 

 of vent and ventral end of flanks with more white at tips ; tail- 

 feathers with more black at tips than in (E. I. leucura (measured 

 as in (E. I. leucura black is in central feathers 34-43 mm., in fourth 

 from outer 12-18 mm., never divided with white as is frequently 

 the case in (E. I. leucura). 



Adult female. Upper-parts dark brown not brown-black 

 as in (E. 1. leucura ; fore-part of crown paler brown than rest of 

 upper-parts ; under-parts usually paler brown than in (E. I. leucura 

 and belly sometimes greyish ; feathers of vent and ventral end of 

 flanks with more white at tips ; black on tail-feathers measured 

 as in (E. I. leucura is in central feathers 34-40 mm. and in fourth 

 from outer 13-18 mm., never divided with white as is sometimes the 

 case in (E. I. leucura. 



Nestling. (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Except for amount of black on tail, as (E. I. 

 leucura, but female with feathers of under-parts more distinctly 

 tipped pale brown but not so much as in adult female. 



Measurements. <$ wing 92-102 mm., tail 63-68, tarsus 26-28.5, 

 bill from skull 19-22 (12 measured). $ wing 89-95. 



BREEDING-HABITS. Nests under boulders, in fissures in cliffs or 

 holes in steep mud-banks and builds a sloping breastwall of 

 flakes of stone, each about 2 inches across, on outside of nest. 

 Nest. Carelessly built of dead vegetable matter and profusely 

 lined with hair and feathers. Eggs. 3 to 5, white with a bluish 

 tinge, and sometimes boldly marked with sienna spots, often 

 forming zone at big end, sometimes only sparingly. Average of 

 60 eggs, 23.4 X 17.3 mm. Breeding -season. March and April. 

 Incubation. Chiefly at any rate by hen. Probably two broods. 



