Days' Nesting in Andalucia. 79 



MiLVUS ICTINUS. 



The Red Kite is much more local than the Black Kite 

 and not nearly so plentiful. Like most of the resident birds, 

 it breeds early. From April the 27th to the 29th we found 

 several nests, but they all contained young or eggs on the 

 point of hatching ; one nest had three eggs without spots. 

 Most of the Red Kite's nests had three eggs (about eleven 

 nests were found) ; whereas I saw dozens of those of the 

 Black Kite, but only found three eggs in a few cases, even 

 when incubation was far advanced. 



MiLVUS MIGRANS. 



The Black Kite is very common, sometimes breeding in 

 small colonies, and in one of the pine- woods I counted twentj^- 

 three birds in the air together. The first eggs were seen on 

 April 16th, but laying did not fully commence till quite ten 

 days later. I could see no difference between the nests of 

 this and of the last species ; both were adorned with " lesser 

 linen'' and once with cigarette-paper and some old printed 

 matter. Personally I found no lottery-tickets, but I know 

 of one having been found ! The eggs are generally smaller 

 and rounder than those of the Red Kite. 



Falco tinnunculus. 



Abundant, laying in old nests o£ the Kite, Raven, and 

 Buzzard, also in holes of trees, and often in old nests of 

 Magpies; fresh eggs were found from April 16th. 



Falco cenchris. 



The Lesser Kestrel is not so common as the last-named, 

 and breeds much later. The first eggs taken, an incomplete 

 clutch of three, were in a hole in a tree on May 10th. On 

 May 27th I took clutches of four and five from similar holes, 

 very slightly incubated and fresh. One set of eggs, on which 

 I caught the old bird, was not five feet from the ground. On 

 May 29th fresh clutches of four and five respectively were 

 taken from an old Moorish tower, and, judging from the 

 number of birds flying round, many of them had not even 

 then begun to lay, 



Aruea purpurea. 



Purple Herons were very numerous ; their large nests are 



