220 BIRD-HUNTING 



way B borrowed my rifle for a shot at a Wild 



Goose he had spotted while riding through a plain 

 near the salt-pans. The bullet I saw strike just 

 over the bird, probably from his having over- 

 estimated the distance. 



The next few days were devoted to packing and 



getting ready for B 's departure, and in skinning 



the Pelican and a Sea Eagle I had laid low with a 

 rifle-bullet. A few days later a Griffon Vulture was 

 obtained in the same way. 



Before B left me to my own resources I had 



arranged to spend a week on the outskirts of a large 

 forest, a few hours' ride along the farther side of the 

 lagoon, with a friendly Albanian family whom I had 

 met last year. It would be a good opportunity for 

 trying to photograph some of the numerous Eagles 

 and Vultures which had been seen by us daily on 

 our rides abroad, and also would enable me to see 

 something more of the home life and customs of the 

 Albanians. 



There were an extraordinary number of carcases 

 of animals lying about the country in every direction, 

 which had been bogged in the deep mud. On 

 several occasions I had ridden past Eagles quietly 

 sitting on low trees and even in quite small bushes, 

 and had determined not to leave the country without 

 making an effort to attract them within reach of my 

 camera. 



