82 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the Ornithology of Palestine. 



all the PycnonotidcR, covered with rich chocolate, crimson, and 

 pink blotches and spots, and about the size of that of the Skylark. 

 It is subject to considerable variation in the intensity and size of 

 the markings. We found the locus plentiful in the whole of the 

 Jordan valley, and in all the sheltered wadys and wooded low- 

 lands on both sides of the river, as well as in the plains of 

 Sharon, Acre, and Phoenicia, the glades of Carmel, and occa- 

 sionally even in the sea-bound valleys of the Lebanon as far as 

 Beyrout, but never in the hill-country. I have nevei" seen speci- 

 mens from Egypt or Asia Minor, though I have met with it in a 

 collection said to have been made in the lied Sea. The Bulbul 

 is a favourite cage-bird of the natives, is easily tamed, sings and 

 thrives well in confinement. My friend Mr. Wright, of Malta, 

 possessed one for many months which had been obtained at 

 Beyrout *. 



Drymoica gracilis (Licht.) is another of the characteristic birds 

 of Palestine, and, like all the others I have named, is a perma- 

 nent resident. I had met with it in Egypt, where, however, I 

 believe, it does not remain throughout the year, and it is certainly 

 there neither so conspicuous nor so easy of observation in its 

 habits as in Syria. It is here spread throughout the whole 

 country wherever there is water, preferring the neighbourhood 

 of streams, and remaining in the low plains during winter, but 

 ascending to the hill-sides in spring. In its actions it has much 

 of the character of the Salicarice, and even in its note also, ex- 

 cepting in tone, for it is without their jarring harshness. The 

 little fellow will often run up a reed or tamarisk-twig just in 

 front of your horse, and then, after giving forth his blithe shrill 

 note for a few seconds, as he clings, with head erect and tail 

 downwards, will suddenly rise into the air and hover overhead, 

 warbling like the Cisticole, or as the Willow Wren will some- 

 times, but rarely, do at home. The nest of D. gracilis is neat, 

 well-built, and not difficult to discover. Though domed and 

 with an entrance at the side, it is not suspended, but placed 

 either in the fork of a sage- or tamarisk-bush, or else woven 



* In Thompson's ' Birds of Ireland ' (vol. i. p. 154) it is mentioned, on 

 the authority of Mr. R. Ball, that three birds, no doubt of this species, were 

 obtained for the Zoological Garden in Dublin before the year 1845. — Ed. 



