SO SOME BIRDS OF THE CANARY ISLANDS 



beneath bridges, over which the carriage road runs. 

 These are well built and of immense strength, being 

 doubtless made so in order to withstand the sudden 

 floods of water that occasionally, in the winter time, 

 rush down the deep barrancos. The rocky beds of 

 these barrancos are for the most part dry, although 

 along their banks many different kinds of plants may 

 be found growing. The bramble here is common, and 

 the Zarzalero, or Blackberry-bird, may often be seen, 

 its plumage of black and white, chestnut and grey, 

 rendering it a conspicuous and handsome object. This 

 little bird, the Spectacled Warbler, generally builds its 

 nest in blackberry thickets, to which fastnesses it can 

 retire on the approach of danger ; it is also fond of 

 churring at any intruder with a harsh, scolding note, 

 from some exposed position, such as the one figured 

 in the accompanying illustration, where the bird is 

 perched upon a broken cane. These canes attain a 

 considerable height in Tenerife, and when fully grown 

 are utilised by the fishermen as rods. 



Other inhabitants dwell in these ravines besides the 

 Zarzalero, and here may be found a peculiar insect, 

 having some resemblance to a locust, which goes by 

 the name of the Praying Mantis. This insect, the 

 whereabouts of which it is not always easy to discover, 

 earns his reputation for piety from the peculiar way in 

 which he holds his two front legs, these assuming the 

 position of hands when clasped in the act of prayer. 

 He will thus sit motionless on the foliage of some tree 

 or plant, and as the small creatures on which he feeds 

 perceive him they are struck with the reverence of his 

 devotional attitude. "How good he is," they seem to 



