THE B.ETICAN WILDERNESS MAY. 85 



a score or so of Knots, in full red summer-plumage, busily 

 feeding rather far out. While creeping to them, a Marsh- 

 Harrier rose from some rushes close at hand ; I knocked 

 him down and found he was lunching on a Knot. The 

 latter we could not see again — though later in the month 

 they were in thousands — but made out a " bunch " of 

 Greenshanks feeding a little further on, one of which fell to 

 a long shot— an immature bird. Curiously, we found no 

 adults here, though in March they were numerous in some 

 disused saliuas beyond Tangier, but no j^oung ones. The 

 adults are distinguishable by their whiter appearance at a 

 distance. 



Our course lay across a wide bight of the marisma, 

 which projects into the land. Crossing this, nearly knee- 

 deep in mud and water in many parts, we fell in with three 

 packs of Sand-Grouse {Pterodes alchata). They were exces- 

 sively wild, flying fast and high, something like teal, anon 

 like plover, and uttering a chorus of harsh croaks. On the 

 open marsh we almost despaired of outmanceuvring them. 

 We stuck to them, howe\'er, and, after many failures, 

 .obtained some beautiful specimens of both sexes, and well 

 worth the trouble they were ; for no bird we have ever seen 

 rivals the Pin-tailed Sand-Grouse for delicacy of pencilling 

 and the harmonious contrasts of infinite colours in its 

 plumage. In the females especially, the spring-plumage 

 is so variegated as to defy description, the patterns, so to 

 speak, being as elaborate as the tints. Briefly, her back 

 is finely reticulated with yellows and browns, blacks and 

 maroons of various shades, all relieved by clean-cut bars of 

 pale blue. Her head is speckled above the black line 

 which passes through the eye ; below that, the cheeks and 

 throat are plain buff, and the chest clear bright chestnut, 

 doubly margined with black and with a pale blue band 

 above. In the male the features of the spring-plumage 

 are a black throat, and a line of that colour through the 

 eye. The pale sage-green back is covered with large lemon 

 spots, some of which extend to the scapulars and tertiaries. 

 The eye-circlets and eyelids are bright blue in l)oth sexes, 

 and at all seasons : of their winter-dress and habits we 



