The Oo/ogists' Record, September i, 1921. 61 



soon put a bird off a nest in a medium sized tree in a small clump 

 of pines, and got six finely marked eggs, but a long search produced 

 only another set of two, although two other nests were found, newly 

 lined with bark strips, hair and wool, and ready for eggs. We also 

 found two other Buzzard's nests, the first with a nestling and an 



addled egg while the second provided an amusing episode. M 



had approached it while I was engaged in examining an old Eagle's 

 nest in an adjoining tree at which I fired a pistol shot to put off a 



possible bird. M called excitedly to me to say that a bird 



had stood up on his nest and flapped its wings. I therefore ap- 

 proached and fired a second shot at it, but without bringing off a bird. 



M then commenced to climb the tree but declared that the 



bird was still flapping its wings. I promptly fired a shot directly 



at the nest from which M presently threw down to me a dead 



Common Buzzard. Astounded at my prowess with the pistol I 

 approached and examined it and found it to be very much dead, 

 having probably been shot by a farmer some weeks before. The 

 nest also contained one smashed and dried egg. A ]\Iistle Thrush's 

 nest was also taken from a slender pine-tree containing three 

 remarkably blue eggs with purple markings in a zone, more like 

 eggs of the Pine Grosbeak than the Mistle Thrush. I have not 

 obtained skins of the local Mistle Thrushes but they struck me as 

 being browner than our British birds. Beside the track on our 

 way back we got a nest with three incubated eggs of the Crested 

 Lark, Galerida cristaia pallida, and I shot an example of Galerida 

 theclcB theclce, identical with the form shot on the Sierras. 



On the 30tli we worked out to the Cotos, far to the south-west 

 of Coria, starting early and reaching the big timber, the home of 

 the Red and Black Kites, by 10.30. Many Common Kestrels were 

 breeding in the old Kites' nests and I obtained several handsome 

 clutches, noting that most of the nests were lined with dry earth. 

 I also got some more sets of Black Kites' eggs, one rather small and 

 shallow nest in a 70-foot pine yielding a very handsome set of 3. 

 This nest was of sticks, lined with cow-dung and part of a puff-ball 

 fungus. We lunched below this tree and then proceeded slowly, 

 tapping the trees which contained nests. The pine belt literally 

 teemed with nests, new and old, most of them Black Kites', which 

 birds we saw slipping off their nests in every direction. Two trees 

 side by side yielded a handsome pair of Black Kite's and a fine 

 set of five Common Kestrel's. A little farther on we came to 



