SAX1COLA 35 



beak and legs black ; iris brown. Culmen 0'82, wing 4*1, tail 2'9, tarsus 

 1-1 inch. The female does not differ from the male, but the young bird has 

 the black duller, and the crown black, with occasionally a white feather 

 or two. 



Hob. Algeria, ranging east to Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia, and 

 north to Palestine. Everywhere resident. 



It frequents rocky and stony places preferring the granite 

 and limestone ranges and is shy and cautious. Its song is 

 sweet and melodious. It feeds on insects but is said to eat the 

 seeds of the pomegranate. It breeds in March, the nest being 

 placed in a hole of a rock, but the eggs are, so far as I can 

 ascertain, as yet unknown. 



52. BLACK WHEATEAR. 

 SAXICOLA LEUCURA. 



Saxicola leucura (Gmel.), Syst. Nat. i. p. 820 (1788) ; Dresser, ii. p. 

 247, pi. 36 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. Br. Mns. v. p. 375 ; Koenig. J. f. 0. 

 1895, Taf. vi. (nest and eggs) ; S. cachinnans, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 

 i. p. 236 (1820). 



Kftclull, Arab. 



$ ad. (Algeria). Upper and under tail-coverts pure white ; terminal 

 half of middle and tips of the remaining rectrices black, the rest of the 

 tail white ; all the rest of the plumage, the beak and legs black ; iris 

 brown. Culmen 0'9 1, wing 3'66, tail 2'92, tarsus 1-08 inch. In the female the 

 black is brownish black. The young bird is dull black, the under tail- 

 coverts tipped with dull white, the upper tail-coverts pure white, and the 

 tail black, tipped with white. 



Hob. Southern Europe from Portugal to Greece, and Algeria, 

 and is a resident, but many of those which breed in south 

 Europe pass the winter in north Africa. 



It frequents desolate stony localities and is shy but very lively 

 in its habits. Its song is said to resemble that of the Blue 

 Rock Thrush but is not so loud or clear. Its nest is placed in 

 a hole, and it protects it by heaping up small stones at the 

 entrance. It is constructed of dried plants and grass-bents and 

 lined with hair and feathers. The eggs, from 4 to 6 or even 

 7 in number, are deposited from March to May and are very 

 pale greenish blue, spotted at the larger end with pale rusty-red 

 and measure 0*9 by 0'68. 



D 2 



