Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas 281 



the upright stalks. It was perfectly motionless, and tiie 

 curious, compressed form, of a most \ i\id and brilHant t>Teen, 

 was wonderfully inconspicuous amid the leaves. After 

 watchiufj" and photographing it, I gave it a sliglit touch-up, 

 and tlic tiling vanished into tlie next busli witli a Hying leap, 

 nor could a close search detect it again. 



^V pair of the inevitable " guardas " were occupants of my 

 carriaoe on the way l)ack : and on arriving at the termiiuis 

 I was requested to move, and then saw for the first time 

 that my next-door neighbour was a prisoner, chained hand 

 and foot, so that he had to he half lifted out of the carriage. 

 He was most likely bound for the convict prison on a small 

 rock-island in the bay. 



At last the Mclcome arri\'al of the yacht released me 

 from waiting in idleness, and I went on board at once, as 

 glad to leave Gibraltar as I had been to see it on first 

 arri\"al. 



llunning round to the (Tuadalquivir under steam just 

 took up one day, and we made for San I.ucar de Barrameda 

 after dark, anchoring off' the town, on which we turned the 

 search-light from the bridge, in order to see what sort of a 

 place it appeared. 



Earlv the next morning brought the British Vice-Consul 

 and a letter from friends to whom we had introductions, 

 giving us permission to visit and collect over a celebrated 

 preserve on the property of the Duke of iSIedina Sidonia ; 

 and, according to instructions, we proceeded farther up the 

 river, and brought up again off' a rude and rickety landing- 



