324 Mr. H. F. Witherby on a Collecting [Ibis, 



Lisbon, where Mr. W. C. Tait found them in 1879, and it 

 was suprising to see them in such large numbers more than 

 200 miles to the north. 



Arrived at Vigo, we received every possible assistance from 

 Mr. T. Guyatt, H.B.M. Consul, with whom I had been in 

 correspondence for some time. Mr. Guyatt took the 

 greatest interest in our trip, and had it not been for his 

 very kind assistance, it would have been impossible to have 

 made a successful collecting trip in so short a time, but Mr. 

 Guyatt smoothed the way for guns and cartridges and 

 permits, and provided us with information of all kinds. I 

 must also here record my sincere thanks to Sefior E. Duran, 

 C.B.E., of Vigo, for much assistance, to Mr.M. W. McKenzie, 

 H.B.M. Vice-Consul at Rivadesella, who gave us most 

 valuable information about the Picos de Europa region, and 

 to Mr. Abel Chapman, who also supplied me with useful 

 information. 



At Vigo we were joined by Sefior A. P. Lopes, who had 

 accompanied us as a skinner the year before in Portugal; 

 and one could not wish to have a better and quicker skinner, 

 or a more cheerful and willing companion than Lopes. The 

 difficulty always was to give him enough to do, for he much 

 disliked being unemployed and was not accustomed to col- 

 lecting himself. 



We travelled by rail to Leon, where we stayed a day to 

 interview the Governor of the Province, w^ho very kindly 

 provided us, at the request of Mr. Guyatt, with a most 

 effective permit, which not only allowed us to collect freely, 

 but bid everyone concerned to assist our "mision cientifica" 

 to their utmost ability. 



Thus armed we arrived at Riaiio after a five hours' motor 

 diligence ride from Leon at mid-day on 23 September, 

 and immediately set to work. Riafio is a small village 

 devoted to goats, sheep, cows, and pigs in a valley at an 

 elevation of 3300 feet on the south-west side of the Picos 

 de Europa and in the north-east corner of the province of 

 Leon. We were very comfortably housed in the Fonda 

 Montanes, a small and primitive but clean inn, where we 



