1 92 1.] Winter Avifauna of the Camargue. 597 



and would not go on until I liad spoken to it or patted it. 

 The going was slow, as there were constant detours to avoid 

 marshes or |)onds, but at 11.30 I'.M. sharp that horse halted 

 before the door of its stable in the village. 



In his second paper Mr. Eagle (jlarke mentioned the rapid 

 advance of civilization in the Camargne, and somewhat 

 pessimistically predicted the passing of the Flamingo and 

 the ornithological glory of this r^^gion. I could not see that 

 civilization had ])rogressed materially since his account was 

 written, and I doubt if the bird-life has decreased markedly. 

 The small native population still takes a heavy toll of eggs in 

 the breeding-season, but the winter bird-life seems quite safe. 

 They all have guns, and most of the men went hunting every 

 day I was there, but the total game of the village was two 

 Mallards and one Spotted Crake : surely a negligible factor ! 

 Birds were exceedingly abundant and many comparatively 

 tame, the dominant features being the number and variety of 

 Hawks, always noteworthy in western Europe, and the 

 almost unbelieveable quantity of waterfowl. On 31 Dec, I 

 saw fifty-three species of birds, and more individuals than on 

 any other day anywhere where I have been in either hemi- 

 sphere. The Etang de Valcares was black with waterfowd 

 in every direction, and the chorus of voices coming over 

 the silent waters from conntless thousands of Mallard and 

 Widgeon made an unforgettable impression. 



On 2 Jan. the day was spent south and west of Aries. 

 Birds were decidedly common, but exceedingly shy and 

 wary, so much so that it was impossible in many cases to 

 approach sufficiently near to identify them. 



It would be absurti to claim that the following list of species 

 was complete. Still it is believed that it will give some 

 definite idea of the present-dny winter bird-life of this inter- 

 esting region, about v\hich no definite contributions have 

 been made since the days of Crespon and his friends eighty 

 years ago, when French interest in ornithology was at its 

 zenith. The writer's military duties absolutely precluded 

 general collecting, which would have greatly decreased the 

 time spent in the field and the amount of territory covered 



