42 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 
soon descried dayats* ahead, and halting beneath their 
welcome shade, consumed our frugal lunch. Attentive 
Mohammed had provided a repast of roasted locusts, which 
tasted something like shrimps. The remains of a fire and 
the horns of a Gazelle showed that some travellers had 
been there before us. 
When the sun sank to her rest, our first day’s journey 
was ended. We had reached more clumps of trees— 
Jujubes, Terebinths, Olives, etc.; all the larger ones had 
Ravens’ nests on them; and I may here remark that the 
Ravens of Algeria appear to be much smaller than English 
ones, They moreover breed in society. In 1867, L. Tacza- 
nouski, of the Warsaw Museum, was so struck with this 
difference in size that he refused to catalogue them as 
Corvus corax (Zoologist, p. 2587); and Lieut-Col. Irby has 
since bestowed the name of Corvus tingitanus on this variety 
(Ibis for 1874, p. 264). Ravens are proverbial for their 
shyness, and I never had the luck to shoot one. Though 
glad to find other's carrion, or to make carrion of them if 
he can do it with impunity, as some writer has observed, the 
Raven takes good care that none shall make carrion of him. 
I have seen one pursue a bird of prey for a quarter of a mile, 
and on one occasion I witnessed a sharp fight between a 
Kite and a Raven, in which the blows of their wings could 
be plainly heard like distant pistol shots. 
Early next morning we descried some tents, where we 
were treated to dates, sheep’s milk, and the staple dish 
couscous. This, their favourite repast, is served on a carpet, 
which is always spread on the arrival of strangers, for no 
Algerian would invite you to sit upon the ground. I ob- 
served several pairs of Bushchats (Saxicola mesta, Licht., 
S. philophthamna, Trist.), hopping about it. They are pretty 
* Dayats are miniature oases where there is no constant supply of 
water, and consequently no palms, though other trees grow there. 
