40 GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 



uncle, Sir Hyde Parker, and a few friends to 

 the Morea and Thessaly, during the winter of 

 1 844-5 ; and although the season was singularly 

 unpropitious for the woodcock-shooter in the 

 south of Greece, yet the records of the expe- 

 dition show that besides the great variety of 

 sport afforded by deer, hares, herons, bitterns, 

 quails, pheasants, partridges, plovers, snipes, wild 

 ducks, &c., the number of woodcocks killed on 

 several occasions was incomparably greater than 

 the most fortunate and skilful party could pro- 

 cure in any district of the British islands with 

 which I am acquainted. This communication 

 also contains some account of the proceedings 

 of two other parties who, during the same period, 

 visited the Peloponnesus, as well as the shores 

 of Albania, for a similar purpose, in the Diram 

 and Flower of Yarrow yachts. As the testimony 

 of an eye-witness is generally best conveyed in 

 his own words, I gladly avail myself of Colonel 

 Parker's permission to insert here a portion of 

 his letter to myself, with extracts from the journal 

 containing the result of each day's sport. 



" You will perceive that the party in Albania 

 had better shooting than in the Morea. This is 

 quite dependent on the season. When the win- 

 ters are mild, and there is not much snow on 

 the mountains as was the case in 1844-5 Al- 



