20 On the Guadalquiver. 



mile away from the edge of the lucia. When we visited 

 this place again at the end of May, the lucia had almost 

 completely dried up, and it is extremely unlikely that the 

 flamingoes nested that year in Spain. Even in the wettest 

 seasons, although the flamingoes build nests and lay eggs, 

 they never seem to hatch out young in Spain. We left 

 the nests with some regrets that we had happened upon 

 a dry season, and soon arrived at the edge of the lucia. 

 Now we found that our stalk would not be an easy one, as 

 there were many birds of different kinds between us and 

 the flamingoes. If we went straight on we should disturb 

 these birds, and they would disturb the flamingoes, so 

 we had to make a big detour. With infinite trouble we 

 worked to within one hundred yards of the birds in about 

 an hour, but we had frightened several flocks of smaller 

 birds on our way, and when we peeped at the flamingoes 

 from under the horses, we saw that their suspicions had 

 been aroused, and that they were walking rapidly away 

 from us. However, we persevered, and followed them, but 

 they would not allow us to come nearer, and away '* like 

 a blood-red flag the bright flamingoes flew." 



We had not finished with these flamingoes. Oar backs 

 were aching dreadfully, owing to want of practice in 

 walking, bent double, behind small horses. So when our 

 men pointed out that the flamingoes had settled in another 

 lucia, and were admirably placed for a drive, it was not 

 for us to deny it. Accordingly, we kept behind the horses 

 until we reached the dry land, and then we crawled some 

 distance to a spot of land which divided the water we 

 had left from the water in which the flamingoes now 

 were. Here we lay down, scarcely concealed by the scanty 

 herbage. About a quarter of a mile in front of us 

 were the birds. We calculated the flock at about 



