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



all, or at least only a very few stragglers. They are not 

 breeding in their breeding-places, and only an odd one is to 

 be seen occasionally among the hosts of C. unicolor. Many 

 people have noticed this same thing to me ; I do not know 

 if it is only confined to this part of the island, but I saw 

 C. pallidus in flocks in La Palma. Perhaps the unusually 

 long period of dark gloomy weather has sent them somewhere 

 where there is more sun. 



The Cuckoo seems to miss this island. I only saw one this 

 spring; it was being chased by some small birds [Anthus 

 bertheloti), as at home, and was in the red-coloured plumage. 



1 obtained my first nest of Frinffilla tintillon on May 16th 

 this year, but it was a week or more before they had begun 

 to lay as a rule. Three eggs are the usual clutch, though 

 four are often laid, and also very frequently only two. I am 

 much struck with the small number of eggs laid by many 

 birds here. I have never seen more than three eggs in a 

 Blackbird's nest, very often only two, and frequently one. 

 Phylloscopus rufus lays four eggs, occasionally five, often only 

 three. The Tit {Parus teneriffce) lays the same number ; the 

 Robin generally three, often only two, occasionally four or 

 five. The egg of the Robin is very richly marked and large, 

 and is as different from the egg of our Robin as the bird 

 itself is. The Goldcrests {Begulus cristatus) lay but five 

 eggs, often only four ; the egg is exactly like our bird^s, but 

 I often find a double-yolked one. The Kite {Milvus regalis) 

 and the Buzzard {Buteo vulgaris) are prolific enough, for I 

 knew two pairs of Kites which reared four young ones and 

 two pairs of Buzzards which had three. 



The Chimney Swallow [Hirundo rustica) does not seem to 

 breed here. I saw a pair or two about until the middle of 

 May, haunting the same places day after day, but they dis- 

 appeared. Two pairs of Ospreys bred near Orotava this 

 spring; one pair each side of the town. I have seen several 



Peregrines {Falco ?), and from their small size I should 



be inclined to think they belong to the small southern form. 

 I saw one the other day within ten yards, and watched him 

 for some time ; he had no red on the nape of his neck, and 



