54 



The Oologists' Record, September i, 192 1. 



party of Pratincoles, Glareola praiincola, which settled on the 

 grass beside the track and were extraordinarily fearless. 



On the 9th we went across the river again after Sardinian 

 Warblers, Sylvia melanocephala melanocephala, and found three 

 nests, two being in small furze bushes with, in each case, a small 

 tree alongside, and the third in the centre of a bunch of the tall 

 straggling bush, which the Spaniards use for hut-making. We 

 also got two more nests of the Spanish Goldfinch. In the marsh 

 below we found several nests of the Crested Coot, Fulica cristaia, 

 with from one to seven eggs. The eggs are darker than those 

 of the Common Coot, Ffdica atra, which frequents the same marsh. 

 Most of these nests had the rushes bent down and intertwined above 

 the nest, probably with the object of warding off Harriers and other 

 nest robbers. We put up a female Marsh Harrier from the centre 

 of the marsh, but a search only revealed an old nest of this species. 

 I have since come to the conclusion that the i\Iarsh Harrier breeding 

 here is Hartert's Harrier, Circus ceriiginosits harterti, of North 

 Africa and not the typical form, and Dr. Hartert is of the same 

 opinion. 



Next day we went out to the Red Kite's nest found two days 

 before, with one egg, but finding there was still but one we had it 

 taken and it proved to be much incubated. No one had scaled 

 the tree before, so it became evident that the Red Kite must 

 sometimes lay but a single egg. Returning we found another nest 

 of the Common Buzzard with two incubated eggs and along 

 the edge of the marshes found three nests of the White Stork, two 

 being on the top of old straw stacks, and each with three eggs, 

 while the third was on a large tree growing in the deeper water 

 of the marsh. This nest was an enormous affair, probably 5 to 

 6 feet deep and appeared sufficient to fill a wagon. It contained 

 two eggs. 



We went across the river again on the nth and saw some more 

 Sardinian Warblers' nests, two of which had four eggs each. We 

 also were shown by a boy our first nest of the Crested Lark, Galerida 

 cristata pallida, under a prickly plant beside the track. It contained 

 four eggs. 



We left the samiC afternoon for Seville en route for Grazalema 

 in the Sierras, where, however, we did not arrive until two days 

 later, such are the facilities for travel in rural Spain. At Ronda 

 on the 13th, we found Serins, Serinus canarius serimts, singing in 



