452 Mr. A. Chapman — Winter Notes in Spain. 



the immense quantities of insects (small black gnatSj or mos- 

 quitos) which lined its leeward shores. For league after 

 league layers of tiny living creatures extended in unbroken 

 succession; in width they would not be less than several 

 yards^ and they were often an inch or two thick. More 

 than half of these living millions were floating on the water's 

 edge, the rest were on the dry mud or sand, where one could 

 pick them up in handfuls. 



In the Goto de Doiiana we had a prolonged campaign with 

 large and small game during the early part of January. 

 About half the time was spent among the open scrub-covered 

 plains at the further extremity of that extensive preserve ; 

 thence we moved our quarters to the pine forests of the 

 " marismilla/' nearly opposite San Lucar. At first sight these 

 fragrant woods appeared rather devoid of bird-life. We 

 often rode for miles without seeing more than a few Ravens 

 or a Kite ; the latter always Milvus ictinus, for the Black Kite 

 [M. migrans) is exclusively a summer visitor. Among the 

 thick bushy tops of the stone-pines were numbers of small 

 birds, which I had some difficulty in making out, as they were 

 extremely shy, and it was, of course, not permissible when 

 after deer &c. to fire at such small fry ; but later, while 

 waiting concealed in my " puestos " in the heart of the silent 

 forest, I had opportunities of observing them, as they sent 

 down small showers of pine-cone scales upon me. They were 

 principally Hawfinches {Coccothraustes vulgaris), but there 

 were also small parties of Crossbills {Loxia curvirostra) simi- 

 larly employed. On two or three occasions, when our 

 *' drives " were finished before dark, I used the opportunity 

 of trying to obtain some of the smaller forest-birds. But in 

 this a singular difficulty occurred. In Andalucia the sun 

 gives us an hour or two more of his company than on a 

 winter's day at home. All day long he shone in a blue and 

 cloudless sky ; but almost as soon as his rim sank behind the 

 distant pines it was dark, and the nocturnal concert of frogs 

 and Owls commenced. The transition from day to night is 

 startlingly sudden, twilight only lasting a few minutes. The 

 feathered race is well aware of this, and provide for the event 



