68 Mr. H. Saunders on the 



nearly white with foam-crests, and a few Gulls, with Red- 

 shanks along the shores, were the only birds visible in the 

 driving clouds of dust. Changing train at Perpignan, we 

 ascended the Tet valley to the pleasant town of Prades, the 

 usual point of departure for Vernet-les-Bains. We merely 

 visited the latter, which was at that time frequented only by 

 " serious " invalids, most of them in a very sad state ; the 

 butterfly-visitors, for whom the grand hotels exist, come 

 later. Vernet is somewhat shut in, and although there are 

 good excursions to be made from it, I much prefer Amelie- 

 les-Bains, on the other side of Canigou, where I passed some 

 weeks in the autumn of 1876. In the valley of LaTaurinya, 

 by the ruined abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, we identified 

 a Tree-Sparrow, a very local species in the south ; House- 

 Sparrows were generally distributed, but less numerous than 

 the Chaffinch; the Crested Lark and the Woodlark were met 

 with. Swallows and House-Martins swarmed, a male Cirl 

 Bunting was well seen, and the Meadow-Bunting haunted 

 every bank, not to mention several common species. One of 

 our excursions was to Molitg, where we called upon a 

 M. Massia, who gave us some information about the natural 

 history of the neighbourhood and pointed out a favourite 

 resort of the Eagle-Owl on a ruined fortress on a crag. He 

 possessed no specimen of the Black Grouse, and had no 

 knowledge of the Hazel-Grouse, though evidently well 

 acquainted with game-birds, and he ought to have been a 

 good sportsman, for he owned two lovely Gordon setters. 

 On the 4th May we saw our first Woodchat-Shrike, but the 

 wind was so furious that few birds desirous of a quiet life 

 would face it. 



On May 5th we descended to Perpignan, and passed on 

 to Banyuls-sur-Mer, a little town and port on the frontier, 

 well known by reputation at least, owing to its marine 

 biological station, the Laboratoire Arago. There we were 

 cordially received by the Preparateur, M. Adrien Robert ; sub- 

 sequently meeting Mr. Minchin, of Merton College, Oxford, 

 and M. Severtzofi", son of the well-known Russian naturalist. 

 The last had been out all day in pursuit of whales, to one of 



