Bird Life in the Spanish Marismas .*3()8 



to leave her freshly hatched young. After replacing the 

 youngsters and releasing her, she at once scrambled in after 

 them again. 1 have since often wished I had kept these 

 quaint-looking little objects — the whole family, in fact. Owls 

 are very easily reared and kept in confinement, and I lune 

 had several kinds at different times, and found them very 

 amusing. The odd contortions and grotesque poses of the 

 I^ittle Owl are above all irresistibly fuimy. 



Soon afterwards a Holler was seen to leave a hole in 

 another cork-tree ; but we were quite unable to make any 

 impression witli any tools in our possession, and were in 

 consequence unable to reach the eggs. These birds tumble 

 about in tiie air and beha\'e in a most extraordinary manner, 

 making the wliolc time an indescribable racket. The first one 

 I saw puzzled me : to all appearance the bird was stark 

 staring mad. 



Birds of all sorts are always to be found in numbers 

 round these old cork-trees. One group of magnificent trees, 

 under whose welcome sliade we had stopped to lunch, was, 

 I remember, fairly alive with birds. ]Many I^ittle Owls 

 Hew from the numerous holes and cavities ; AVoodpeckers 

 were to be seen, as we rode up, climbing nimbly all over 

 the great gnarled and twisted branches ; and a large colony 

 of Jackdaws were busy nesting. AVe found many nests full 

 of eggs ; one of them l^eing among the roots underground. 

 Among these trees the only Hoopoe and the only Great 

 Spotted Cuckoo seen during my visit were observed. The 

 former appeared to hiive left a small round hole aljout 



