411 
1921 .] of Tunisia and Algeria . 
of migrants—I found Biskra and its environs all that its 
admirers had claimed for it. From our comfortable quarters 
in the Hotel du Sahara we were able to make easy expe¬ 
ditions in many directions—on horseback, in carriages, on 
camel, or on foot. Thus the plain of El Outaia is within 
easy reach, also the sand-dunes, the stony desert, the sandy 
desert, the bare rugged hills, and the wide bed of the 
Oued Biskra, the extensive palm-groves of Vieux Biskra, 
the wonderful garden of Count Landon, each holding their 
own particular birds, only a cursory knowledge of which 
can be obtained in a three weeks* visit. Later in the season 
(we left Biskra on the 24th of March) the oasis is full of 
migrants passing on their long journey north. On March 
13th I met a French sportsman returning with four or five 
couple of Quail, which he had shot in the fields on the 
outskirts of the oasis—the first arrivals of the season, so he 
informed me. By the third week in March, Swallows and 
House-Martins had become common, frequenting particularly 
the Oued Biskra and the cornfields on the outskirts of the 
oasis. The young palm-groves were teeming with Warblers, 
apparently on passage ; but of other migrants, such as Bee- 
eaters, Boilers, Swifts, and Bedstarts, none had yet arrived. 
Had we remained another month we should doubtless have 
found them in numbers. Bock-Martins were, however, 
observed in one place only, half a dozen of these birds flying 
round the old watch tower, built on a commanding rock near 
the entrance to the town. Hartert records them from near 
Biskra in February, March, and April. 
The birds of Biskra and its neighbourhood have been so 
thoroughly studied by Lord Bothschild, Dr. Hartert, and 
others, that I can add nothing whatever to their exhaustive 
work. On 16th March we left for Touggourt—an Arab 
market-town of considerable importance 132 miles south of 
Biskra. The comfortable train, running twice weekly, takes 
from 8 a.m. until 4.30 p.m. to cover the distance, but the 
leisurely journey gives one ample time to study the topo¬ 
graphy of the real desert, so unlike the Sahara as seen in 
our childhood’s picture-books ! A great part of the way 
