Birds of Teneriffe. 79 



riffe^ one having been obtained by Gomez near Orotava. 

 Unfortunately the bill is the only portion he has preserved, 

 but he described the bird to me, and there is no doubt that it 

 may be safely added to the Teneriffian list. 



The Anatidse are out of place in an island like Teneriffe, 

 now that the ancient lake at Laguna is a thing of the past. 

 It must have been a grand place for all sorts of wild-fowl in 

 the old days, but now, alas ! there is nothing left but a small 

 square tank, full of frogs and weeds, to mark the site of the 

 former extensive sheet of water. I paid a visit to this miser- 

 able relic of the good old times, and left the spot a sadder, 

 if not a wiser, ornithologist. 



Viera talks of Ducks, which he calls '^ Patos herheriscos'' 

 and which appear to have been the Common Wild Duck 

 {Anas boschas). 



I have often wondered what species were included amongst 

 the Wild-fowl the Governor's Peregrines were bullying on 

 the lake at the time he was amusing himself in watching the 

 '^chasse" from the citadel of Laguna (see 'The Ibis/ 

 1887, p. 430). A real good marshy lake in the Canary 

 Islands would be something to dream of. 



The country people spoke to me of Ducks as appearing 

 occasionally in winter, generally flying overhead, but they 

 could give me no information as to the species. A Duck is a 

 Duck, and nothing more, in this rocky island. 



The Common Tern [Sterna fluviatilis) is of frequent occur- 

 rence in the summer months in Teneriffe. I have received 

 both skins and eggs from Gomez, though I never saw it 

 myself, nor did I come across any other Terns during my 

 stay. Doubtless several species are found in the eastern 

 islands and detached rocks adjoining them, where there are 

 many suitable breeding-places for all sorts of sea-birds. 



Gulls were numerous at Santa Cruz when we landed there, 

 on the 4th February, but apparently of only two species, the 

 Lesser Black-backed {Lariisfuscus) and a Herring Gull, which 

 I then recorded as L. argentatus, but which, from subsequent 

 observations, made at the same place on my return, I 

 believe to have been L. cacldnnans, the Yellow-legged Her- 



