83 [Vol. xxix. 



tympanic muscle, a very insignificant slip to overcome such 

 a great amount of resistance. 



" In examining freshly-killed Snipe and Woodcock, I have 

 been surprised to find the ease with which this movement of 

 the premaxilla can be performed^ merely by pressing on the 

 angle of the mandible^ in this way imitating the action of 

 the masseter muscle. By these means the quadrate bones 

 are tilted forward, themselves in turn imparting the move- 

 ment to the palatine processes of the maxilla and thus 

 forcing the premaxilla upwards. 



" To my mind this is a simple explanation of the manner 

 in which these birds catch their elusive prey beneath ground. 

 By merely pressing the upper and lower mandibles tighter 

 together the tip of the beak opens and the desired result is 

 obtained. 



" The position of the eye and that of the extensor auditory 

 meatus in these birds add to au already long list of admir- 

 able adaptations for which the subfamily Scolopacina: is so 

 remarkable.^^ 



Mr. H. M. Wallis exhibited two nests and eggs of the 

 House-Bunting, Emberiza Sahara, from Arab houses at El 

 Kantara, Algeria, April 1910. This bird was literally an 

 inmate of Arab and Kabyle dwellings, roosting inside the 

 living-room^ picking crumbs from, the floor^ and building in 

 the wall-niche made for the lamp, sometimes in an inner 

 room which has no window. It was not confined to the 

 desert, but was equally abundant at Biskra, El Kantara, and 

 in the cultivated valleys of the Aures Mts., miles from any 

 desert-ground. It frequented the shops of the grain- 

 merchants, and was seen feeding fearlessly in the open 

 mouth of a sack of wheat whilst people were standing 

 around and passing. When pursued by the Merlin {Falco 

 cssalon) in the open country, it had a habit of clinging to the 

 face of a low cliff or overhanging bank. Some eggs re- 

 sembled those of the White Wagtail [Mutacilla alba), others 

 were like those of the Grey Wagtail {M. melanope), but 

 smaller. The nests were flimsy cups of dead bents, lined 

 with a little black (goat's ?) hair. 



