Days' Nesting in Andulucia. 75 



myself. A clutch of two fresh eggs was brought to me ou 

 May 11th, and another on May 16th. 



Gecinus sharpii. 



Common locally, and a very early breeder. I found young 

 more than half-grown on April 27th. One nest was in a hole in 

 a large cork-tree almost 07i the ground. A Spanish Imperial 

 Eagle had a nest in the next tree. On May 1st and May 16th 

 two full sets of eggs were taken, nearly fresh ! At the base 

 of the beak of the young I noticed the peculiar knob men- 

 tioned by Mr. Gurney ('Zoologist/ 1901, p. 128) as occurring 

 in G. viridis. 



CORACIAS GARRULUS. 



Common, but the nests are hard to find. Rollers are 

 rather late breeders, and it was not till May 26th that 

 Ave took a set of five fresh eggs from a hole in a tree. 

 Another nest in a Moorish tower, on May 29th, also con- 

 tained five eggs slightly incubated. Little or no actual 

 nest is, however, made, as a rule ; but I watched one pair 

 of birds pulling up grass and carrying it away to a distance, 

 presumably for building purposes, though I failed to discover 

 the breeding-place. 



Merops apiaster. 



In spite of snaring, shooting, and netting, Bee-eaters are 

 i^till quite common, though the natives say that they are not 

 nearly so numerous as formerly. They nest in the banks of 

 the rivers and on roadsides, and even excavate their holes in 

 the flat ground. These slant downwards, some being nearly 

 three yards long; while they are generally straight, though one 

 was noticed to have a turn nearly at right angles. The holes 

 seem unnecessarily large for the size of the bird, and a cavity 

 is formed where the eggs are deposited. Hoopoes occasionally 

 make use of old nesting-holes of the Bee-eater. It was not 

 till May 24th that laying was in full progress : six eggs seem 

 to be the usual complement. 



CoCCYSTES GLANDARIUS. 



Extremely local. At the Coto Dofiana I never saw the 

 Great Spotted Cuckoo nor did 1 find its egg, although 

 Magpies^ nests were numerous; yet it was abundant sixteen 



