THE SHRIKE-TIT 121 



few trees and bushes, many of which were plentifully 

 furnished with long, strong thorns that made sorry work 

 with our clothes when we attempted to walk among them, 

 and inflicted severe scratches. There was here also a 

 dreadful plague in the shape of the sand flies, which 

 irritated us greatly. These tormenting pests could not 

 be kept out of our eyes and ears, and small as they were 

 they bit most cruelly, and set up an irritation of the eye- 

 lids that lasted many days, causing a running which 

 effectually glued the lids together after sleep, so that 

 they could not be opened till they had been bathed in 

 warm water. 



We searched the country east and west for water, 

 but no stream or pool could be discovered ; and though 

 we sunk several wells, one of them as much as twenty 

 feet deep, we could find none of the precious element. 

 On the 19th we walked inland to the hills to the north- 

 ward, hoping to find water there, but were disappointed 

 in this. 



The country, as viewed from the top of this ridge, 

 presented no relief to the eye. It was a scrub waste, 

 with here and there a ridge of low sand-hills. To the 

 south-west we could perceive a range of more pretentious 

 elevation. It was situated at a great distance, as much 

 as thirty or forty miles, it was thought, from the spot 

 on which we stood. 



The only living things we saw were insects, a few 

 lizards, which were too nimble to be caught, and some 

 birds flying at a distance. The only shot we fired was 

 at a solitary small bird, which fluttered from bush to 

 bush till the cruel gun put an end to its pretty tricks, 

 which much resembled those of a titmouse ; such as 

 hanging head downwards, prying and searching under 

 the leaves, etc., and flying restlessly from branch to branch 

 of the bushes. It was, in fact, a shrike-tit {Falcunculus 

 leucogaster), a beautiful little bird, several species of which 

 are found in the southern half of the continent. This 

 particular species is, I think, confined to the west. It is 

 distinguished by a white breast and abdomen, while the 



