74. Mr, A. Chapman's Rough Notes 



dive. Towards Rocio, where the reed-beds are very extensive, 

 "we met with the Purple Heron. I found a nest, with one 

 egg, as early as 9th April ; it was merely an armful of the 

 tops of the long reeds bent down. This egg was longer and 

 of a deeper shade than those of Ardea cinerea. About these 

 reed-beds Little and Eared Grebes were tolerably plentiful, 

 and Coots very numerous. The nests of the latter, floating 

 in 4 feet of water, contained eggs as early as 31st March and 

 furnished us with many a breakfast. The Grebes were only 

 beginning to assume their summer plumage. 



The night of April 10th I spent at Rocio, being rather 

 tired of the cold and comfortless nights, sub Jove, in the 

 marisma, where an upturned punt afforded but scant shelter 

 from the piercing winds of the " small hours." It was hardly 

 a change for the better, as a more miserable ague-stricken 

 spot I never beheld, and in a Spanish " posada " man and 

 beast are reckoned exactly equal in relation to the " accom- 

 modation '' (?) they require. However, the four-league tramp 

 through sandy scrub-covered plains was a relief from the 

 monotonous marisma, and there were fresh birds for a 

 change. Hoopoes and Golden Orioles y>^ere observed for the 

 first time, and Rollers, Southern Grey Shrikes, and Turtle- 

 doves abounded. A pair of Spotted Woodpeckers (?sp.) and a 

 single Azure-winged Magpie were the only instances of their 

 occurrence I have met with ; the latter, however, is abun- 

 dant further inland. It was near Rocio also that I obtained 

 the Red-backed Shrike [Lanius collurio), which species had 

 not previously been recorded in Southern Spain, though 

 there is a specimen in the museum of Jerez, said to have 

 been shot near that city. 



The next bird obtained was a Great Spotted Cuckoo, and 

 shortly afterwards, while sitting at lunch, a fine female Hen- 

 Ilarrier {Circus cyaneus). This was the last I saw of this 

 species, which does not remain to breed in the south of Spain. 

 They are not uncommon in winter, and I frequently saw 

 them while Snipe-shooting. On the morning of the 11th, at 

 a wooded swamp called La Rocina, I shot a Black Kite and a 

 female Booted Eagle, which passed within reach as she 



