54 



BIRD-HUNTING 



and baited with a rabbit. On the first attempt the 

 rabbit was carried off bodily, the string which 

 connected it with the camera being snapped without 

 releasing the shutter. As no footprint showed in 

 the smooth surface of the sand it was evident that 

 some powerful bird had swooped down and carried 

 it off without alighting. At the second attempt, 

 after procuring another rabbit, the shutter duly went 

 off, and by the tracks left in the sand it was plain 

 that a Kite or Kites had been there. Unfortunately, 

 the plate, from which I expected an interesting- 

 photograph, was badly fogged from being left so 

 long in the brilliant sun, only protected by the fabric 

 of the focal-plane shutter. 



Many Peregrines were flying about the forests, 

 and were apparently resting or sitting in empty 

 nests, for from one nest from which we disturbed 

 a Peregrine we afterwards took four eggs of the 

 Raven. 



Kestrels also use the old nests of the Kite in 

 which to lay their own eggs. Barn Owls and Jack- 

 daws nest in the old cork-trees, while the quaint 

 Little Owls use the Woodpeckers' holes in the same 

 trees, and also the holes in the gnarled and twisted 

 olive-trees. 



Bee-eaters, Hoopoes, Rollers, and Golden 

 Orioles also abound, and add to the interest of the 

 scene by their brilliant plumage ; and a few Southern 



