172 Mr. Howard Saunders on 



and Titlarks {Anthus pratensis) . A. rufescens I did not then distin- 

 guish. Along the banks of the river. White Wagtails {Mota- 

 cilla alba) and Goldfinches {Carduelis elegans) swarmed, whilst 

 the little Fan tail [Cisticola schcPMicola) alternately flitted like a 

 moth and sneaked like a mouse amongst the herbage. Em- 

 beriza cia was not uncommon ; and Passer domesticus was as 

 abundant and impudent as elsewhere. A fine male Sylvia 

 subalpina baffled all my efforts to obtain it, owing to its ex- 

 treme tameness ; it obstinately refused to remove to a distance 

 sufficient to avoid my blowing it to pieces ; and, situated as I 

 was on a narrow ledge of rock, I could not retreat. I watched 

 it for the best part of an hour, never at more than fifteen paces 

 from me, and found it far more lively and curious than the 

 Grasshopper- Warbler [Locustella ncevia), which, after once di- 

 ving iuto the recesses of a bush, rarely reappears. I afterwards 

 obtained a specimen near the same locality. A native caza- 

 dor brought me a Twite {Linota flavirostris) , male Cirl-Buut- 

 ing {Emberisa cirlus), several Black Redstarts, Willow-Warblers 

 {Phyllopneuste trochilus), Sparrows, and Goldfinches, — also a 

 Water-Rail {Rallus aquaticus), but nothing rare, though both 

 Baillon's and the Little Crake [Ortygometra pygmcea and O. 

 minuta) are not uncommon on the Segura. I also saw one 

 Kingfisher {Alcedo ispida). Thrushes were very abundant in 

 the orchards ; and amongst them I noticed a few Redwings 

 {Turdus iliacus) ; but the main body of the latter had not yet 

 arrived. On my return to Murcia, I noticed in the market 

 numbers of the Common Starling {Sturnus vulgaris) for sale, 

 and was assured that, after being bled to take away the bitter- 

 ness of their flavour, they were very good eating. In a cage 

 was a Common Sparrow which had learnt to sing like any 

 Canary, and for which the owner asked an enormous price. 



From Murcia I proceeded to Malaga, where it was my inten- 

 tion to pass the winter ; and under its genial climate I gradually 

 threw off my rheumatism, and became as well as ever I had 

 been in my life. I lost no time in exploring the flat district at 

 the mouth of the Guadalorce, the nearest branch of which 

 enters the sea at about a league from the city ; but though 1 

 had the run of the sugar-estates in that district, and enjoyed the 



