August 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



185 



in my first article these birds are difficult to see. Although 

 bold enough when in cover — for they will cackle into one's 

 ear at a yard's distance — they leave their retreats only to 

 flit out and in again, and it is impossible to do more than 

 catch a passing glimpse of them when amongst the waving 

 reeds, We managed to beat some of them out and so get 

 specimens, and we also found their beautiful nests, made of 

 the flower of the reed and woven round four or five stems. 

 Fastened in this way on the reeds they sway with every 

 gust of wind, but the cup of the nest is so deep that the 

 eggs are safe from falling out. 



WhUst exploring one of these dykes in search of the 

 great reed warbler, we saw a little bittern,* a black and 

 creamy-white bird rather larger than a waterhen, run into 

 a thick mass of reeds. We surrounded the spot, and 

 eventually managed to drive the bird from its hiding place, 

 but it ran past us like a rat and was up the bank of the 

 dyke before we could move. We rushed to the top just in 

 time to see it flying across to a reedy swamp, and thither 

 we quietly followed it. -Just as we reached the reeds 

 another little bittern flew out. We shot at it but only 

 succeeded in wounding it. The bird flew a short distance 

 and then perched on a reed, gripping it firmly with one 

 foot above the other. As we approached, the bittern pointed 

 its bUl straight up into the air, and stretched up its neck 

 and body until it was long and attenuated and resembled a 

 reed. This attitude is commonly employed by the bitterns 

 for purposes of concealment when hard pressed. A brown- 

 coloured bittern is exceedingly difiicult to find in a reed 

 bed when in this position, and so is a little bittern where 

 the reeds are thick and the light broken up, but in the 

 present case the pied plumage of the bird was very con- 

 spicuous in the more or less open place which it had chosen. 

 The bird, however, seemed to consider itself quite invisible, 

 for it remained stiff and motionless although we went 

 within a few yards of it. By wading quietly through this 

 reed bed we put up several more of these birds, and we had 

 also the good fortune to find one of their nests made of dry 

 pieces of reed, and carefully concealed. The nest contained 

 five eggs of the purest dull white. 



As mentioned in my first article, a small portion of the 

 marismas is dotted over with pines and cork oaks, and 

 overgrown with a very dense and tall undergrowth, com- 

 posed of tamarisk, gorse, cistus and other shrubs, some- 

 times growing almost to the size of trees. This part of 

 the marismns is near the sea, from which it is protected by 

 miles of sand dunes. These are increasing so rapidly in 

 height and breadth that many trees, and even whole 

 woods, have been covered and eventually stifled to death 

 by the shifting sand. In riding across these sand hills 

 one actually passes over the tops of many a tall dead tree 

 hidden under the sand, or guides one's horse amongst the 

 topmost branches of some big pine, which is still Uving 

 and fighting the irresistible sand that will eventually 

 smother it. The sight of a grove of these trees buried up 

 to their " necks " in sand and yet still living, is not to be 

 forgotten. 



We approached this country from the river, and as our 

 boat neared the shore we noticed that the mud of the river 

 bank was thickly studded with what looked like small 

 stones, but no sooner had our boat groimded than all these 

 " stones " disappeared as if by magic. We landed and 

 found that the mud was bored in every direction with 

 holes, and on going a little distance off and remaining 

 quiet, the " stones " appeared again in thousands, and we 

 soon discovered that they were really small brown crabs. 

 The crabs seldom stray far from their holes, so that it was 



* Ardetta minuta. 



by no means easy to catch any of them. If surprised 

 suddenly, and not being able to reach his own home, a 

 crab would dart into a neighbour's hole, but only to be 

 chased out by the owner, and thus he could be captured 

 before going to ground again. Some curlew" and whim- 

 brelt were running about on the edge of the river at a 

 little distance away from us, and with our glasses we could 

 see that every now and again one of the birds would make 

 a rush, and catching a crab by a leg would drag it from 

 its retreat. The bird would then walk off with its captive 

 to the hard ground, and after breaking the crab's shell 

 against the stones, as a thrush does a snail, make short 

 work of its soft inside. 



Of the many interesting birds such as eagles and kites 

 to be found in the wooded part of this country I hope to 



Fis. 3.— Stilt's Nest slightly built on Dry Ground. 



write in a subsequent article. Occasionally amongst the 

 tamarisks there is a small lake often with an island, some- 

 times covered with reeds or rushes, sometimes with tamarisk. 

 Many kinds of herons breed on these islands in colonies. 

 Owing to the dry spring of 1898, water, and hence food for 

 the birds, was scarce, and consequently they began to 

 breed much later than usual. Up to the 7th of May, no 

 herons, excepting the purple heron, were to be found at 

 their breeding places. However, we had ample opportuni- 

 ties of watching these beautiful birds, which were always to 

 be seen feeding in the marshes bordering on the wooded 

 land. A most striking and beautiful sight is that of a 

 flock of buff-backed herons,; looking a dazzling white in 

 the simhght, attending on a herd of black bulls or a group 



Numeniut arguafa. 



t Namenius phoeopus. 



X J-rdea bubulcut. 



