Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 269 



trict ill searc'li of birds, it is needless to say tliat it was 

 accepted witli alacrity. It was the very thing I had been 

 lono'ing to do for years ; all needful preparations were made 

 with the greatest enthusiasm, and a start was made with 

 anticipations which were more than fulfilled. Travelling 

 overland through France — for I had been unable to catch 

 the steamer did not present anything wortliy of notice. 

 Birds, indeed, appeared, as far as one could judge from the 

 passing train, conspicuous by their absence, with the ex- 

 ception of ^Magpies, wdiicli were more plentiful than I had 

 exer seen them before. Tlieir nests were to be seen by the 

 dozen, sometimes two, and even three, in one leafless tree. 



Railway traAxUing was nc^t altogether so comfortable as it 

 might have been, though it was partly or altogether my own 

 fault that tlie join-ney from I^ondon was so long and tedious. 

 Starting on Sunday evening, I did not land on the quay 

 at Gibraltar until Friday evening. Still, the journey was an 

 experience I am glad not to have missed. It gave me an 

 opportunity of seeing something, however cursory, of the 

 whole length of Spain, from north to south, and many typical 

 glimpses of an extremely interesting and picturesque people, 

 and of noting the effects of climate on the \arious races. 



The country south of the I'yrenees is very picturesque : 

 rocky valleys, covered with oak and chestnut, generally had 

 a small stream rippling along over the shallows, and looking 

 very " trouty " — as I believe they are. Here the people 

 are frugal and industrious, the soil not being very produc- 

 tive, and labour being absolutely necessary to get a living. 



