301 
Ornithology of Northern Africa. 
sand, and when alarmed continuing its flight to a considerable 
distance. It was obtained in the dreary desert between Gue- 
nara and Hadjira, and also in the Chotts near Tuggurt. It 
breeds in burrows. 
42. Saxicola halophila, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59. (The 
Salt-loving Chat.) 
Like the preceding in its habits and localities, but apparently 
occurring only in the eastern and Tunisian portions of the 
Sahara. The general tone of plumage somewhat resembles that 
of S.philothamna, to which in its perching and burrowing habits 
it bears affinities. There is a peculiar silky texture in its loose 
plumage, which I have not observed in other Chats. It is 
shorter, but more robust than the S. stapazina , and wants the 
dark back, throat, and shoulders of S. philothamna. Its incon¬ 
spicuous cinnamon head and back render it very difficult to de¬ 
tect, either on the ground or perched on a tuft of Desert-rush. 
On the first occasion on which I met with it, the chase cost me 
an hour’s pursuit before I could get within shot, the little fellow 
keeping quietly but constantly about a hundred yards ahead. 
There is very little difference between the sexes in plumage, the 
female being without the dark cheeks, and rather fainter in 
general coloration. 
43. Saxicola homochroa, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59. (Soli¬ 
tary Chat.) 
The smallest and most inconspicuous of its class, exiled to a 
region where none others exist. In the restless sand-drifts 
of the Desert of Souf, and the ( Dunes de sable 9 which roll 
and rise beyond the Tunisian Djereed, is the home of this soli¬ 
tary and melancholy bird. While toiling through this weary 
Sand-ocean in a three-days’ journey, this and Galerida arenicola 
were the only living things that crossed our path. With the 
exception of its dark-brown primaries and rectrices and dull- 
white tail-coverts, it is of a uniform pale sand-colour. The 
sexes are identical in plumage. It sits at the edge of a sand- 
drift, and as the shelving sides crumble down with the wind, it 
seems" to search for its food in the debris. 
[To be continued.] 
