68 Mr. H. Noble— /W///-/OW 



irapertiuence for one who has done so little to venture to 

 take up liis pen ; yet, on the principle tliat " every little 

 helps," I send to ' The Ibis ' a few notes on the district 

 extending: from a ^eyi miles south of Seville to the mouth 

 of the Guadalquiver near San Lucar. 



To my mind, the great charm of a birds'-nesting trip to 

 the south of Spain consists in the fact that many species 

 which may be common in one spot are not found ten or 

 fifteen miles further on ; others taking their place, even when, 

 to the human eye, the country seems to be equally suited 

 to their requirements. Practically the breeding-season lasts 

 from January to July, beginning with the Bearded Vulture 

 in the first month, and ending with the Flamingo and Black- 

 bellied Sand-Grouse ; but, owing to the short time at ray 

 disposal, I missed many of the earlier species and a few of 

 the later lireeders. The actual days in the field numbered 

 forty-four, and two others were wasted : one in seeing a 

 bull-fight, the other on account of an election, when my 

 men fell victims to the bottle ! The drawbacks to Anda- 

 lucia seem to me to be much exaggerated : the climate is 

 hot, but otherwise perfect, and although snakes, scorpions, 

 leeches, and lizards abound, the visitor soon gets used to 

 them ; mosquitoes, however, are a ti'ouble, especially when he 

 is blowing eggs or skinning birds late at night. The peasants 

 are civil, and if they would not shoot every game-bird and 

 duck from its nest, and eat all the eggs on which they can 

 lay their hands, I should like them very well. It was heart- 

 breaking to find dozens of egg-shells of the Slender-billed 

 Gull lying outside a horse-keeper^s house, the contents 

 having been eaten ! 



The first nest was taken on April 14th and the last on 

 May 29th ; but, although the days were few in number, our 

 hours of work were long — often from 5.30 a.m. till dark ; then 

 blowing eggs continued till after 12 p.m. In all, eggs of 

 ninety-four species were taken or seen, and I believe that 

 one is recorded from Spain for the first time, namely the 

 Pintail [Dafila acuta). I was fortunate in obtaining permis- 

 sion to visit several Cotos, and my thanks arc especially due to 



