431 



especially in the neighbourhood of Ain Oosera, a solitary caravansary in the desert, kept up by 

 the French government as a military halting-place. 



"Though certain that the birds were breeding there at the time, I was unable to detect 

 their nest ; but shortly after my departure the keeper of the caravansary, who had assisted me 

 in my search, and who had in previous years frequently taken the eggs and cooked them as. 

 omelets along with those of the Pterocles setarius, found the nest and sent me the eggs, three 

 in number. According to his account, the Courser always adheres to this number, as indeed 

 might have been expected from the character of the bird. 



" It makes no nest whatever, but deposits its eggs on the bare soil in the most arid plains." 



Favier believes that only two eggs are deposited ; and Viera also says {fide Bolle, J. f. O. 

 1857, p. 336) that the Courser "nests on the ground, merely scratching a hole which it surrounds 

 with small stones, and deposits two eggs, rather smaller than those of a Pigeon, whitish in colour, 

 and marked with dark spots." 



As this article was going to press, Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., who has just returned from Egypt, 

 informs me that a specimen he shot at Gar had been feeding on white grubs about 1 J inch long. 

 He says that he found it rare and extremely shy in North-east Africa. 



I possess a single egg, one of those sent to England by Favier, which agrees closely with the 

 specimen figured by Mr. Hewitson, being in ground-colour stone-buff or dull stone-ochre, closely 

 spotted or almost marbled with pale purplish grey underlying shell-markings and pale dull 

 reddish brown surface-spots or small blotches. In shape this egg is rather short and stout, 

 tapering towards the smaller end ; in size it measures l^f by 1^% inch. 



The specimens described and figured are an adult male from Gozo, and a young bird from 

 Algeria, both being in my collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — ■ 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 

 a, j ad. Gozo, March 27th, 1866 (C. A. Wright), bjuv. Algeria (E. C. Taylor), 



E Mus. Lord Walden. » 



a. Morocco. h,2. Sambhur, India, November 30th, 1870 (R. M. Adam), c, $ . Sambhur, February 13th, 

 1871 (R. M. Adam). 



E Mm. J. E. Earting. 



a, ? . Sicily (Parzudaki), b, J . Tangier (Olcese). c,juv. Algiers (Parzudaki) . d. Upper Egypt, December 

 (S. Stafford Allen), e. N.W. Provinces, India [Blanford). /, ? . Koochawan, India (A. 0. Hume) . g, 3 . 

 N.W. Provinces, India, February 19th, 1869 {A. 0. Hume), h, $ . Near Sambhur, India, December 4th, 

 1869 {A. O. Hume). 



E Mm. Howard Saunders, 

 a, b, 6. Tangier, autumn (Olcese). 



-J u 



