52 The Oologists' Record^ September i, iQ2i. 



Nightfall found us on the edge of the marismas and, to the 

 accompaniment of the mournful hoot of a Scops Owl we urged 

 our weary horses towards a small farm on the rising ground near 

 the edge of the marshes, where we speedily secured accommodation 

 for our horses and, after some parley, accommodation of a kind 

 for ourselves. It was rough but acceptable, for McNeile and I 

 were allowed to spread our sleeping bags on the brick floor of the 

 best parlour, after first enjoying as good a meal as we could make 

 from our stock of provisions. M found more congenial accom- 

 modation elsewhere, but we were quite satisfied with the seclusion 

 and cleanliness of our selected quarters. Fresh air we got by 

 forcing open the window, but unfortunately we also thereby got 

 night marauders in the shape of mosquitoes. On another intruder, 

 who opened a door in the dead of night and looked in upon me with 

 shining eyes, I need not enlarge, for it proved to be nothing worse 

 than a cat. 



Next morning I was out at daybreak and saw a wealth of birds 

 on the marismas. Purple Herons, Ardea purpurea purpurea, 

 stood about here and there while Buff-backed Herons, Ardeola ibis 

 ibis, stalked under the bellies of the cattle, and ducks of all sorts 

 flew up and down. One or two Avocets were to be seen and many 

 Ravens and other large birds. However, we were not intending to 

 explore the marismas then, so after an early breakfast we went 

 to see first a perennial Raven's nest in a huge pine near the farm. 

 The birds were about but it was too early for eggs. Pushing on 

 to a belt of big timber, under the guidance of a local donkey-man, 

 we put a magnificent Red Kite (Sp. Mildno real) off a nest about 

 80 feet up in a huge pine. The local donkey-man went up and 

 found that there was only one egg, which we left, and then pushed 

 on to another tract of big timber. Here we put up another Red 

 Kite from a nest 60 feet up in a tall thinnish pine and got three 

 very handsome eggs. The nest was lined with rags, paper and a 

 large piece of a rush basket. Near by we got another nest of the 

 Common Buzzard with two nearly fresh eggs. As we jogged on, 

 knocking any nest-trees to put off possible birds — for the guides 

 consider it useless to make an ascent unless a bird is seen to leave 



the nest — we discussed Eagles with M . He affirmed that 



Bonelii's Eagle, a well-known cliff breeder, here nested in pine 

 trees, a fact we were extremely sceptical about. Yet presently 

 we came to a huge pine, the biggest in the district, which had a 



