THROUGH WILD EUROPE 31 



some trees which obstructed the view from below, I 

 was able to bring the camera and telephoto lens to 

 bear on her at a workable distance. It was really a 

 great stroke of luck to find a Griffon's nest in such 

 an accessible situation, for as a rule they choose a 

 perpendicular precipice of anything over 500 or 

 600 feet in which to nest. The curious part of 

 it was that so long as I was alone the bird sat 

 quietly on her nest, and I was free to move about 

 in full view of her without disturbing her in the 



least ; but as soon as M or the young Spaniard 



appeared on the scene she flew off, and would not 

 return until they had retired. 



Only a few yards from this nest I had put off 

 from a cave higher up a fine Egyptian Vulture, and 

 could see the outside sticks of her nest projecting 

 over the edge. I tried hard to climb to this nest, 

 which was not more than sixty feet up, but could 

 not manage more than half-way, and there stuck, so 

 I had to give it up. 



All that night after our return I lay awake con- 

 sidering how I could master this difficult bit of rock- 

 face ; and at last I thought I had hit upon a feasible 

 idea. The next day, therefore, we hired some 

 horses and rode back, provided with a coil of rope 

 and the nesting-stick before described. The idea 

 was for me to climb up as far as I could, and then, 

 by placing the nesting-stick extended to its full 



