MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 205 



tion, and puzzled whither to go. T. and Ruiz appeared 

 on the top of the cliff with a gull, which T. had shot, 

 and I went round to wait for them at the landing-place, 

 where they soon joined me. T. had bagged two fine 

 specimens of Larus audouini and a whinchat, and told me 

 that he had knocked down two more of the gulls, which 

 fell out at sea ; he had a shot also at a hawk, which 

 escaped. Ruiz had taken three gulls' eggs, but certainly 

 not those of L. audouini. The only other bird they saw 

 was a pipit. 



" The lighthouse people brought us down several 

 gulls' eggs, but they were either those of L. leucophteus 

 or L. fuscus. On seeing our gulls they declared that 

 they were the most common species, but they seemed to 

 know very little on the subject, and to care less. The 

 sun was going down and a breeze springing up, so I 

 was very reluctantly obliged to go back to the yacht, 

 and hope for a calm day to-morrow ; but it was not to be. 



Mr. M caught a small shark from the yacht's deck 



about three feet long. A strong breeze from the west 

 got up, and we rolled and strained at our anchor most 

 uncomfortably all night. 



" The only vegetation on the island except sea weeds 

 is a short heathery plant, of which T. brought off a 

 specimen. The nearest land is Cape Tres Forcas, in 

 Morocco, which is plainly visible ; the nearest point in 

 Spain they -told me was Adra. We could also see the 

 Spanish land. They depend upon Almina for all their 



