430 Captain S. G. Reid on the 



seizing and taking their prey, owing to their being of a more 

 robust type than those of Barbary ; and he relates that the 

 Captain-General of the Canaries, amusing himself one evening 

 in the citadel of Laguna by watching several Falcons which, 

 with splendid impetus and skill, were dashing down upon 

 the various water-fowl forced by the peasants with their 

 slings to rise from the surface of the lake, counted them ; 

 also that a certain Falcon of Teneriffe, which the same 

 Captain-General had presented to the Duke of Lerma, 

 minister to Philip III., escaped and returned from Anda- 

 lucia to its own country, performing the journey of 250 

 leagues in sixteen hours, and bringing with it its collar 

 with the coat-of-arms of the Duke, Count BufEon, in his 

 'Natural History/ mentions this occurrence (vol. i. Birds, 

 p. 33)- 



What has become of this famous breed of Peregrines in 

 Teneriffe ? It has been exterminated, apparently. We in 

 England know how tenaciously the much-persecuted Pere- 

 grines of our southern coasts hold their own, and it is difficult 

 to realize the change brought about in a wild spot like 

 Teneriffe in something less than a century, for Viera speaks 

 of it as common in 1799. 



It is somewhat strange that the Osprey ( Pandion halia'etus) 

 has been so little observed in Teneriffe, where it undoubtedly 

 occurs, for my friend, Don Bamon Gomez, has two examples 

 in his collection, obtained by himself on the shore; and it 

 breeds in the island of Gomera, for Dr. Crotch told me he 

 had eggs in his possession taken there. I fancied I saw one 

 near Orotava on one occasion, but could not identify it satis- 

 factorily. Baeza and others assured me that it also breeds 

 in Teneriffe, and I see no reason to doubt it, for the coast 

 abounds in suitable nesting-sites. 



Passing to the Owls_, I found the Long-eared Owl {Asio 

 otus) a common species near Orotava ; an evening seldom 

 passed without one or more being seen, and they undoubtedly 

 breed in some thick palm trees in a villa garden just above 

 the Grand Hotel, belonging to an English lady, Mrs. Smith, 

 whence they were on one occasion dislodged for my inspec- 



