716 Mr. D. A. Baiinernian on the [Ibis, 



and is said to breed in I'enerit'e, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, 

 and Palraa. 



The following notes are arranged nnder the headings of 

 the varions islands : — 



Tene?-ife. 



The Heron is partially resident and frequents the coasts and out- 

 lying rocks. In the winter it is often seen round the fresh-water 

 tanks, and is recorded throughout the season by BoUe (J. f. O. 

 1855, p. 176) and Meade-Waldo (Ibis, 1893, p. 198). Koenig saw 

 them in the high trees of the Botanical Gardens (J. f. O. 1890, 

 p. 453) ; they do not, however, breed in trees in the Canarj' 

 Islands, but resort to the rocky headlands in the south of the 

 island. Ramon Gomez is said by Koenig to have taken a nest and 

 eggs at Adeje on the Teuerifian coast. The Heron is included by 

 von Thanner (Nov. Zool. xi. 1904, p. 431) as a regular bird of 

 passage in Tenerife, and Meade- Waldo saw many in the island on 

 the 26th of April and following days during the great 1890 

 migration (Ibis, LS90, p. 429). Godman saw a few pairs about 

 tlie coast in May (Ibi.-, 1872, p. 221). 



Gran Canaria. 



Herons are perhaps more plentiful here than in any of the other 

 islands, and as in Tenerife they frequent the rocky coasts and can 

 be usually seen fishing on the reefs in Confital Bay. They are 

 said to nest in the high clitls of Guanarteme, and there I have seen, 

 in February 1902, as many as six. together on a small rock lying 

 about400 yards from the shore (Ibis, 1912, p. 586). Dr. P. R.Lowe 

 noted the bird near Las Palmas on the 8th of January, 1906 (MS. 

 note-books). In June 1912, a pair were reported to have built 

 an enormous nest on a rock lying off the Isleta, but rough weather 

 prevented ni}^ verifying this statement, which I have every reason 

 to believe was correct. The real eldorado of the Heron in Gran 

 Canaria is the " Cliarco '" of Maspalomas (for a description of which 

 see Ibis, 1912, p. 564). Herons have frequented this " Charco " 

 for mauv years, and Webb and Berthelot record it as living there 

 "very comfortably '' (Orn. Canarienne, p. 35). Bolle considered 

 that Herons apparently bred there (J. f. 0. 1857, p. 338), but the 

 " Charco " seems to have remained unvisited by any ornithologist 

 until von Thanner went there in 1909 and mentions that a young 

 bird unable to fly had been caught there the previous year (Orn. 

 Jahrb. 1910, p. 99). It appears, howevt-r, that this story emanated 

 from a local Spaniard and their statements are seldom very 

 reliable, I myself spent some time camping in the " Charco " in 

 February 1912, when I continually observed the Heron, but found 

 no trace of an old nest (Ibis, 1912, p. 565), 



