21 8 MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 



but had no chance at the bustards, of which we did not 

 see many. We had a little bit of sniping about the 

 mouth of the Brazo del Este and a soft place just below 

 it on the right bank of Isia Mayor. We got one 

 golden plover, one peewit, eleven snipes, thirteen dunlins, 

 two ringed-plover, one Kentish plover. A lad from Coria 

 brought me a young otter {Lutra vulgaris) caught near 

 that place, small and very tame." 



^^ February i-jth. Very fine, hot dav. We went 

 away in steam launch about 8 a.m. for la Campania, 

 the spot where the Brazo del Este leaves the main 

 river. Saw very few snipes, and those iz'w very wild. 

 Some way down the brazo we came to an island covered 

 with thick brambles, reeds, and white poplars, out of 

 which we startled many birds — e.g.^ kites, marsh harriers, 

 barn owls, sparrow-hawk, water-hen, common heron, and 



wild duck. I and Francisco landed, but foui^d an 



impenetrable jungle, full of old nests, which Miguel 

 declares to be those of the night heron {Nycticorax griseus') 

 and purple heron {^Ardea purpurea). We proceeded 

 down the bra%o and had some tolerable sport, bagging 

 altogether four mallard, two wigeon, one teal, four golden 

 plover, two peewits, one water-rail, three snipes, one 

 quail, two marsh harriers, and a water tortoise (Eniys, sp.?) 

 captured alive. On our way home we flushed a 

 regular bouquet of marsh harriers out of some high 

 reed, and bagged two of them." 



