Lord Lilford on the Ornithology of Spain. 381 



goats, lambs, and the like was to be found. From Las Ynfantas 

 Manuel brought in an Eagle which I took to be a specimen of 

 Aquila ncevioides; but Mr. J. H. Gurney, to whose decision in 

 such matters I most respectfully bow, pronounces it to be an 

 Imperial Eagle {A. heliaca). This specimen is in a very bleached 

 and singular-looking state of plumage, and in colouring very 

 much resembles the ordinary plumage of A. ncevioides. Manuel 

 pronounced it to be a very old bird which had long ceased to 

 breed and was leading a solitary life on the wilds of Las 

 Ynfantas. 



On May 21st some boys brought in two young Spotted 

 Cuckoos, which fed greedily on chopped beef and hard-boiled 

 eggs, flies, beetles, grasshoppers, and so forth. Agapo brought 

 in three more a ftw days afterwards ; and I succeeded in bringing 

 three of these birds safely to England, and kept them in good 

 health till about the middle of last March, when they all died in 

 one week, though apparently quite strong and well, and certainly 

 very voracious to the last. They are sulky and quarrelsome 

 birds, only interesting from their peculiarities and rarity as 

 cage-birds in this country. We obtained a good many more 

 specimens of birds previously mentioned, and a considerable 

 number of eggs ; and on May 26th Manuel knocked down a 

 magnificent male Bustard [Otis tarda) which rose at a few 

 paces from the carriage in which we were. We marked him 

 down, and Manuel after a clever stalk got within shot, and gave 

 him the contents of both barrels as he rose. He did not appear 

 to be seriously hurt, and attempted to cross the valley of the 

 Tagus ; but a violent squall of wind forced him back towards us, 

 and he fell headlong into a field of standing wheat, in which 

 Manuel, Agapo, and his dog sought him in vain for upwards 

 of an hour. This was the only Great Bustard which we met 

 with near Ai'anjuez ; but the species is common in suitable 

 localities throughout Spain, and several eggs were subsequently 

 brought to me from the environs of Madrid. I was assured 

 in Andalucia that a considerable number of Great Bustards 

 remain in the plains about Seville during the whole year, but 

 that they receive great reinforcements in February and the 

 beginning of IMarch, and that the birds which arrive from the 



