288 The Lesser Birds of the Sierra 
But even now I had to exercise patience, for the Duke of 
Connaught who was then serving in the Rifle Brigade was on a 
visit to Gibraltar on the occasion of his honeymoon and this sadly 
complicated my arrangements for we had to parade on the Alameda 
A SANDSTONE CAVERN NEAR A SUMMIT OF THE LOWER SIERRA. 
NESTING-PLACE OF THE BLUE ROCK THRUSH. 
for his inspection. I recall now how whenever I was not ‘‘standing 
to my front” I had an eye trained on that weep-hole in the 
old bastion! Immediately after our return to barracks I got 
into plain clothes and, seizing my coil of rope, started off for the 
bastion. Here there was a Corporal and three Riflemen on guard. 
