280 Rev. H. B. Tristram on the Ornithology of Palestine . 
many years, when its haunts have disappeared, it also will vanish. 
It is a very silent bird, and not often heard except in the 
breeding-season, when it has a cry which reminds me of that of 
the Nuthatch (Sitta ccesia). Its other note is harsh, and, though 
not so loud, is not unlike that of a Jay ( Garrulus glandarius). 
“ Besides the peculiarities of plumage which the genera Oxy- 
notus and Ceblepyris possess in common, the habits of the two 
are, as far as my observation goes, very similar; and, taking 
C. cana as an example, I fail to see any real generic distinctions 
between them. Specimens of the Oxy notus of Reunion having 
been kindly forwarded to me by M. Pollen, I am enabled to 
express my undoubted opinion that they are specifically distinct 
from the Mauritian bird.” 
I may conclude by observing that at first sight the female of 
Oxynotus newtoni might be taken for the young of O. typicus. 
St. Denis, Reunion. 
17th February, 1865. 
[We may here add a description of the nestling of the Oxy¬ 
notus of Mauritius from a specimen sent by Mr. Edward Newton, 
and of which a figure is also given in Plate VII. General colour 
above somewhat like that of the adult female, but each feather 
tipped with light fawn-colour, so as to give a mottled or barred 
appearance, resembling that of the nestling Turdus viscivorus. 
The remiges and rectrices of a paler hue than in the adult fe¬ 
male, with more conspicuous edgings and tips of a lighter 
colour. The throat nearly white in the middle, passing into 
light fawn-colour, each feather having a mesial longitudinal 
streak of brown. At this stage the feathers of the rump do not 
seem to have the characteristic stiff bases.— Ed.] 
XXIV.— On the Ornithology of Palestine. Part IV. 
By the Rev. H. B. Tristram, M.A., F.L.S., C.M.Z.S. 
[Continued from p. 88.] f 
The Scansorial group is very scantily represented in Palestine. 
In many parts of the country, as in the Ghor, as well as in the 
uplands of the south, scansorial birds are wholly absent; in the 
other parts the species are very few. The scarcity of wood alone 
