Ofi the Guadalquiver. 



On a horse, too, one can cover more ground in a day 

 than on foot, which is a great advantage in a big country 

 with a burning sun ; and, again, one feels more comfortable 

 on a horse when suddenly confronted by a fierce-looking 

 wild sow with her litter — at all events, such was our 

 experience. Dotted about here and there in the midst 

 of the tamarisk were small groups of cork oak trees, 

 and to the exploration of these we devoted our first day. 

 Every tree contained a bird or a nest, and in many cases 

 several birds were breeding in the same tree. We dis- 

 covered many nests of both the red and black kites, and 

 found another use for our horses in climbing up to them. 

 The lower part of a tree is generally branchless, and so the 

 most difficult to climb. By standing up on your saddle a 

 bough is generally within reach, and thus the difficulty is 

 overcome, provided the horse does not move away at the 

 critical moment. Most of the red kites at this date 

 (April 22nd) had young ones, clothed in dull white down, 

 and with beaks and legs apparently many sizes too big 

 for their strength and age. The few eggs of the red kite 

 which we found were much incubated, whereas those of 

 the black kite were all fresh. 



The first red kite's nest found was near the top of a 

 cork oak tree. It was about the size of a rook's nest, but 

 much flatter, and was built of sticks and lined with dung. 

 It was swarming with ants which had climbed the tree, 

 and contained three young birds, one of them covered 

 with a half-eaten rat, while the others were nestling 

 against the remains of a couple of small rabbits. The 

 nest was decorated with bits of newspaper and dirty rags 

 and strips of old linen, some of which, hanging down from 

 projecting sticks, fluttered like pennants in the breeze. 



Other nests contained by way of larder the remains of 



