456 ORNITHOLOGICAL SKETCHES 



These mountains, which reminded us of our Central Alps, 

 consist of detached chains of large rounded forms, each con- 

 siderably higher than the one in front of it, and the one on 

 which we were was the outermost of the snow-clad giants that 

 make up the long Sierra Nevada range. On the other side of 

 the valley, and just opposite the house where we had dis- 

 mounted, was a .precipitous wall of rock which formed the 

 base of a hill. In this cliff were several holes and clefts, and 

 there, according to the peasants, herdsmen, and hunters, was 

 situated the nest of 4 the ' Quebranta-huesos,' as the Bearded 

 Vulture is called in Spain. Not placing much reliance, how- 

 ever, on the ornithological knowledge of these people, we 

 made them give a precise account of the bird they had seen, 

 and, rightly enough, the most delightful description of the 

 plumage of an old Bearded Vulture rang like music in our ears. 



On examining. the cliff with the glass we soon discovered 

 the hole which served as the dwelling of this mighty bird, for 

 underneath it everything was white with the droppings of the 

 young. 



Now came the main question : How were we to get near the 

 nest ? One of my fellow-travellers, myself, and some Spaniards 

 started off at once, and, passing through some olive-yards, 

 reached the valley at the foot of the mountain; but before we 

 could get to the foot of the cliff we had to ascend a somewhat 

 high and steep slope of loose stones, such as one finds on our 

 Alps. This being surmounted, I looked about for the best 

 way of getting close enough to the nest, and found a cleft in the 

 rock, or chimney as our mountaineers call it, that permitted 

 us to climb within a few yards of it, but just at the last a pulpit- 

 like projection separated it from the nearest approachable 

 place. 



As it would have been impossible to make a hiding-place 

 for one's self there, we rounded the projection by passing 

 along the bottom of the cliff, and then found a capital place 



