314 Mr. 0. Salvin's Five Months’ Birds’-nesting 
82. Passer salicicola. (Spanish Sparrow.) 
Is found in great numbers during the breeding-season among 
the Tamarisk thickets on the Cliemora, and in the high sedge at 
Zana. The Arabs destroy the nests, eggs, and young, wherever 
they find them, as their great numbers do much damage to the 
crops of corn. The nests are placed as thickly as they can 
stand—the whole colony consisting of perhaps one hundred 
pairs, occupying only five or six trees. The noise and ceaseless 
chattering proceeding from one of these “ sparrow towns can 
easily be imagined; and, guided by the sound alone, one may 
walk directly to the spot from a considerable distance. One 
Sunday morning, four Arabs came to our tents, and, gravely 
sitting down in a row, opened the hoods of their burnouses, and 
displayed 800 or 1000 sparrows* eggs, which they arranged in 
four heaps before them, and remained in their sitting posture 
contemplating them with evident satisfaction. We were rather 
taken by surprise, but selected the best for our collections, 
reserving the rest for omelettes. 
83. Emberiza cirlxjs. (Cirl Bunting.) 
1 frequently saw the Cirl Bunting at Khifan M'sakta and its 
neighbourhood. We afterwards, in May, obtained nests. 
84. Emberiza miliaria. (Common Bunting.) 
Everywhere very abundant. 
85. Alauda arvensis. (Skylark.) 
The Skylark is very common about Tunis in February; but it 
occurs rarely in the Salt-lake country, the head-quarters of A . 
calandra , cristata , and hrachydactyla . 
86. Galerida cristata. (Crested Lark.) 
Is abundant in all the plains both in Tunis and the Salt-lake 
country. In the latter districts we found it breeding in the 
month of May, but some eggs were obtained in April. Though 
the plains appear to be most frequented, it was by no means of 
unusual occurrence to find the Crested Lark in the mountains 
and rocky passes, in this respect differing from A . calandra and 
hrachydactyla , both of which we found exclusively in the level 
country. 
