Avifauna qf the Eastern Pyrenees. 531 



forming to their mode of life. However, apart from a dearth 

 of cleanliness and its concomitants, we found the Andorreans 

 an independent but inoffensive race, and they allowed us 

 much freedom and every facility that could be desired for 

 the pursuit of birds. Our single unpleasantness, or series of 

 unpleasantnesses, was experienced with him from wliom we 

 might naturally have expected at least consideration, not to 

 say protection, namely, our guide and interpreter, whose 

 services we retained when it was found that Catalan alone 

 was understood and spoken by the Andorreans. Minguel, 

 however, had seen too much of the world, and his peasant 

 morals had not been improved thereby. Once an artillery- 

 man in the army of France, he had served in Algeria and 

 Tonquin, and now an ardent smuggler, he, no doubt, thought 

 us fair game for petty plunder. This led him to make out, 

 in his o^\n handwriting, ridiculously exorbitant charges for 

 our accommodation at each of the places — Andorra, Canillo, 

 and Saldeu — at which we stayed. Our protests were inva- 

 riably contested by our servant, who, it is needless to say, 

 was always on the side of our peasant-host. Finally he 

 refused to accept the remuneration we had arranged to give 

 him in return for his services. 



On the 25th of May we left Saldeu — Minguel with his body 

 well wrapped with contraband scarfs and carrying a quan- 

 tity of matches — crossed the high pass during a severe 

 snow-storm, and reached Ax the same evening. 



On the 27th we left Ax for Perpignan — a town situated in 

 a plain at the foot of the extreme Eastern Pyrenees, and close 

 to the Mediterranean. This region presented a great con- 

 trast to the one we had just left. In the place of the high 

 mountains and deep valleys was an extensive plain, only a 

 remove above sea-level, and smiling under the extreme of 

 cultivation ; instead of snows were the blue waters of the 

 Mediterranean ; while the pine, the box, and the juniper were 

 replaced by the vine, the cork-tree, and the ragged thirsty- 

 looking Cactus. Our object in visiting this district was to 

 investigate the bird-life of the series of etangs or lakes 

 which on a glance at a map will be seen to extend from Nar- 



