Nest and Eggs 335 
or fraying during such a short descent a point was selected 
whence the rope got a clear run and as a result | went through 
the unnecessary discomfort of swinging clear of the cliff, for which 
there was no earthly reason. When about 25 ft. down I saw the 
cavern to my left which I eventually reached. As I came opposite 
to it, | saw to my intense joy a big nest of sticks and fresh green 
ilex boughs about 6 ft. from the entrance. Having secured my 
footing, I sang out for more rope and scrambled into the cavern. 
There, in front of me, lying in a basin-like depression amid 
the green ilex leaves, were two beautiful Bonelli’s eggs! What 
my feelings were at this moment can only be justly appreciated 
by the unrepentant birdsnester. The cavern was but little more 
than a hole in the face of the crag, measuring about 5 ft. in 
height and some 4 ft. in breadth. The floor was of earth and 
sand and sloped upwards, the cavern getting much smaller at its 
far end. 
The eggs were white, very faintly clouded with purplish 
blotches and with a few rufous markings, the largest measuring 
2°75 in. by 2°05 in. Having examined my prize thoroughly, | 
returned to the top of the cliff to get my egg-boxes and other 
appliances. I was wildly excited at my good fortune, which 
naturally enough had driven all ideas of any danger of the climb 
out of my head. Also, the return journey had been so simple 
that I had forgotten the blundering descent. Not so my comrades 
however, who, one and all as inexperienced as myself in cliff-work 
and none of them climbers, viewed my conduct as reckless and 
absurd. Unaware of this opinion and bursting with enthusiasm, 
I described briefly the glories I had seen and turning to the 
third member of my party said, “Now! I'll lower you down and 
you shall see an Eagle’s nest for yourself.” The man appealed to 
thus suffered from a severe impediment in his speech. Looking 
at me hard and with compressed lips, he ejaculated, evidently from 
