Birds of the Canary Islands. 431 



at this time of year are quite indistinguishable from young 

 males of F. Until (on. We went on board that night, and 

 called for a few minutes next morning at the beach below the 

 Valle Hcrmoso, Gomera. This enabled me to have a glimpse 

 of the Cordillera, where I had procured my first Columba 

 laur'wora. We then steamed slowly on and anchored off the 

 Port of Valverde, Hierro, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The 

 Port of Hierro is very unpretentious ; there is not even a 

 beach, but here the precipices, which almost surround the 

 island, are a little less steep. There is not a single house 

 in sight, but there is a cave, in which what little business 

 there may be on the weekly arrival of the mails is trans- 

 acted. The delivery of the mails is unique iu its way — 

 the small mail-bag is opened on the beach, the corre- 

 spondence handed round among the crowd, and anyone who 

 sees a letter for himself, or for any of his acquaintances who 

 may live near him in any part of the island, appropriates it 

 or undertakes to deliver it. Nearly two hours' climb 

 brought us to Valverde, the capital, a small straggling village, 

 about 2000 feet above the sea. Hierro has no coast-town, 

 the island being a high undulating tableland, surrounded by 

 almost perpendicular precipices, excepting the valley of 

 El Golfo, which, iu a way, resembles the valley of Orotava on 

 a small scale, except in that the mountain rises much nearer 

 to the coast and is far steeper. Nothing much is grown in 

 the valley except figs and tobacco, there being no water to 

 irrigate the crops. As soon as it was known that I had come 

 to look for birds, I was conducted to see a great rarity that 

 had been caught a few days before, a Common Coot (Fulica 

 atra). It seemed a strange bird to be introduced to on 

 one's first arrival in this out-of-the-way little island. The 

 man that we engaged as guide, and servant also, was anxious 

 to procure for us specimens of the large lizard that inhabits 

 the outer Zalmone Rock. After we had arranged to visit this 

 spot, the dark. weather and heavy surf prevented any attempt 

 at landing on it while we were in Hierro, but Canon 

 Tristram, who came afterwards, was more successful. We 

 started for El Pinal next day, passing through the centre of 



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