MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 159 



flock of wild geese and a few common wild ducks ; also a hare. Wc 

 shot 3 snipes, i teal, t peewit, i golden plover, 2 spotted rails. Saw 

 also common starling." 



"March 2-jth. On the Simeto river shot i bittern, 2 snipes, 

 I golden plover." 



"March 2W1. Pantani. i curlew, i solitary snipe, 4 full snipes, 



1 jack snipe, 4 spotted rails, i wild duck, i garganey, 2 black-headed 

 gulls, I calandra, i quail." 



'■'■March loth. 13 coots, 2 garganey, 2 white-eyed ducks, 5 snipes, 



2 waterhens." 



"March ^ist. 13 coots, i mallard, i white -eyed duck. Lost 

 2 mallards and 2 garganeys, besides some coots." 



Pantani di Catania 



" March 30//2. In a stack near the house where we 

 hired out boats the cutter's crew found a quantity of 

 snakes, chiefly Coluber natrix, which swarms all about the 

 marshes, and I fancy one or two of the black variety of 

 Laments atrovirens. Poland found a nest in the reeds, 

 I fancy of sedge warbler {Schcenobanus), with three eggs." 



Catania. — Lentini, Agosta, and Syracuse 



" March 2>'^st. The yacht lay off and on all last 

 night, and we landed at the same place to shoot ; lost 

 several things in the dense reeds. I found a nest of a 

 porphyrio * in a heap of growing flags, containing one egg. 

 The nest is exactly like that of a common water-hen, or 

 perhaps not quite so high - sided as some nests of that 



* The Porphyries are ' water-hens.' Many of them are coloured 

 blue or bluish-purple, and have red legs, feet and bills. 



