270 Capt, Lynes on the Ornitholoyy [Ibis, 



The surronndiiig hills have precisely the same iiionotonoiis 

 aspect, common to the more arid parts of the Mediterranean 

 littoral. 



The second step-up on to the Plateau of El-Hajeb will 

 produce trifling further change compared to what might be 

 expected from the nature of its stony pastures, but a few 

 of the lower birds — such as the Stonechats, Bee-eaters, and 

 Lesser-bustard, have dropped ont ; the Stork, Corn-bunting, 

 Crested - lark, and Lesser- kestrels remain ubiquitous as 

 hitherto; Calandras "scream" as over the lowland wastes, 

 and no new forms occur. 



The dip of the Tigrigra valley still brings little novelty, 

 but with the " Mamelons "' at the base of the Middle-Atlas 

 all commences rapidly to change. 



The "mound" typo of Mumelons are mostly clad with 

 a monotone of genista scrub, growing close and wiry, like 

 bilberry, and for all the world resemble one of our 

 sombre Northern moors, until midsummer's inflorescence 

 throws a mantle of brilliant yellow over the whole, and lends 

 its charm to the aerial song of the Tawny-pipit — the sole 

 feathered inhabitant. Stretches at the base, in unequal 

 contest with the torrential rain-storms, fail to retain the 

 scantiest soil, and are bare to the rock or mere shale-slides. 



The "rocky'' type of Mamelons are much more diverse both 

 in plant and bird life ; Neophron, Kestrel, and Raven nest 

 in the largest (25 feet circa) crags^ the Little Owl in the 

 smaller ones, Moussier's Redstart and the Blackchat among 

 the boulders ; the Redleg prefers the dwarf ilex scrub, and 

 Pruni'Ua on the screes, while the Linnet and Cirl-bunting 

 find nesting sites in the stunted inniper shrubs that grace 

 what passes here for soil. 



Here, then, lies the borderland between the old and- the 

 new zones : Azrou's ancient mud \\alls, like those of El-Hajeb 

 and the cities of the plain, abundantly supplied with nesting 

 holes and niches, fail to attract their swarms of Lesser-kestrels, 

 thonoh a few Storks find here their " Ultima Thulc^' ; the 

 monotonous chortle of the Corn-bunting is heard no more, 

 and the Crested-lark begins to be replaced by the "Wood- 



