/ 
406 Mr. D. A. Bannerman : First Impressions [Ibis, 
wonderful Hummel Gorge (Plate III.), varying in places from 
330 to 690 ft. in depth and from 230 to 550 ft. in breadth. 
Its precipitous sides are the breeding-place of countless 
numbers of Lesser and Common Kestrels, Jackdaws, and 
Rock-Pigeons. It is, as Dr. Hartert has, I think, already 
said, one of the few places in the world where one may 
stand in a busy thoroughfare and gaze down upon all these 
birds soaring below, and maybe a Peregrine Falcon v\ ill be 
seen, as I had the luck to see one, dashing under the great 
suspension bridge (551 ft. in length and 671 ft. above the 
river) which leads to the hospital; Egyptian Vultures and 
Ravens were also seen in the Gorge, and later in the season 
it is frequented by numerous Alpine Swifts, which, however, 
had not arrived by the 3rd of March. All round the top of this 
gorge runs a fine carriage drive, from which is obtained one 
of the finest views imaginable. To the west and north-west 
stretches a tremendous valley backed as far as the eye can 
reach with mountains. Whether viewed under the merci¬ 
less rays of the noon-day sun, or during the softer lights 
at sunset, the panorama is exceedingly beautiful. Pallid 
Swifts had not yet made their appearance, but on the 1st of 
March a number of House-Martins, which were certainly not 
there on the previous days, were seen flying up to their old 
nests under the eaves of a public building on the ramparts. 
I counted the nests on this building, and I found 91 old, but 
for the most part habitable, nests on the front alone. The 
building had a frontage of 93 ft., two feet of which were 
occupied by water-pipes. At the back there were 90 nests 
at least, and on one of the sides 15, while on the other side 
the architecture did not allow of one nest to be built. The 
total was the prodigious number of 196 nests on only a 
moderate-sized building. On the hillside east of the town 
lies a small forest of fir-trees singularly devoid of bird-life 
on the day of my visit, while below the River Rummel winds 
through the wide valley towards El Guerrah, the junction of 
the line to Biskra. Constantine will live in my memory, 
not only for the unique Rummel Gorge and the marvellous 
views obtained from the ramparts, but also for the remarkable 
