432 Mr. E. G. Meade-Waldo on the 



the island, a high down-like tableland. Nearly all the 

 birds of the Western Canaries are common here, the Common 

 Linnet (Linota cannabina) and Berthelot's Pipit (Anthus 

 bertheloti) being perhaps the most numerous ; but Canaries, 

 Corn Buntings, Goldfinches, and Rock Sparrows were nearly 

 equally abundant. The Chiffchaff and Black-headed Warbler 

 (Sylvia mdanocephala) were common where there was suit- 

 able cover. The dark-coloured Kestrels were fairly common, 

 but I do not think quite so much so as in the other Western 

 islands. The Quail is not rare, but there is no Partridge 

 in Hierro : they tell me it has been introduced from 

 Gomera, but has died from want of water. The Thick-knee 

 (CEdicnemus crepitans) is far from rare. The Buzzard (Buteo 

 vulgaris) is fairly numerous in the Ladera of El Golfo, and 

 the Red Kite (Milvus idinus) is in about the same numbers. 



We did not see the Neophron, neither is the name of 

 " Quirre " known to the islanders, so I expect that if it visits 

 Hierro, it is only occasional. It is common in Gomera, but 

 unknown in Palma. Probably nowhere in the world is the 

 Tangier Raven (Corvus tingitanus) more numerous than here ; 

 it is always in sight, flying in flocks, large and small, walking 

 about close to one, and showing but little fear. They would 

 come to our tent and greedily pick up the bodies of birds 

 that had been skinned, and the pine-forest where our tent 

 was pitched resembled a scattered rookery. The pairs in 

 November frequently sat by their old nests and made most 

 ridiculous noises, sometimes almost resembling a song. The 

 peasants tell me (and I can quite believe it, for food for so 

 many must be very hard to get) that the Ravens do them a 

 great deal of harm, that they have great difficulty in saving 

 their lambs from them (for in Hierro sheep take the place of 

 the goats of the rest of the islands), that they are equally- 

 destructive amongst their crops, and that if it were not for 

 the Ravens the island could support many more people. 



The most interesting bird in Hierro is the Tit. I pro- 

 cured my first specimens soon after entering the pine-forest, 

 and when looking for a camping-ground I shot three more, 

 which at a glance I saw belonged to a new species. This 



