58 Mv. H. Saunders on the Birds of Southern Spain. 



6. Falco lanarius. 



Under the synonym of F. feldegii this species is mentioned by 

 Don Angel Guirao as having occurred near Murcia, and by 

 Lopez-Seoane as being in the Museum at Granada ; but I have 

 not seen either of these specimens. The former was sent to 

 Madrid, where I searched for it in vain, as I have also in two 

 successive years for the latter. " I have myself seen a large true 

 Falcon which was not a Peregrine," to quote a letter of Lord 

 Lilford's respecting one which he saw near Lomo del Grullo 

 in May 1869. Still I had omitted this species, until within the 

 last few weeks I received evidence of its having been obtained 

 near Utrera. 



In the Museum of Jerez are the remains of a Falcon which, 

 fi'om its general appearance, ruddy nape, and large feet, I take 

 to be F. harbarus. Unfortunately, this bird having been kept in 

 captivity for some time, its tail and wings became dirty and 

 ragged. This offended the eye of the Curator, who thereupon 

 rounded them neatly off with a pair of scissors ! 



7. Hypotriorchis eleonor^. 



Although I felt certain that I had seen a pair of this species 

 near Seville in April 1869, 1 was not enabled to identify it posi- 

 tively until this year, when on the 19th and 20th of jMay I found 

 it in great abundance at the Island of Dragonera, off the west 

 of Mallorca. This rock, for it is little more, is in appearance 

 very similar to Gibraltar, though of somewhat less elevation, 

 being only 1180 feet from the level of the sea to the base of the 

 lighthouse, which is perched on the summit. As the Falcons 

 fly very high, it is not easy to obtain specimens ; for, though they 

 hawk for food over the sloping side of the rock, it would require 

 a prolonged stay to get a shot with a chance of the bird falling 

 on land. When sitting with my legs dangling over the preci- 

 pice, a little below the highest peak, these birds passed back- 

 wards and forwards within a few yards, as thick as Swallows on 

 a summer's evening. They were in both the uniform sooty, and 

 also in Hobby-like plumage, in about equal numbers ; many of 

 the latter, from their size, I judged to be females. One of the 

 fishermen informed me that he had once found a clutch of three 



