380 



WILD SPAIN. 



and their beauty and variety almost always lend an 

 additional charm to shooting-days by marsh, mere, and 

 coast ; but this winter they disappointed us. The simple 

 fact was that the whole of their wonted haunts were 

 submerged, and they had sought their desiderata elsewhere. 

 Whether they had passed on southward through the 

 tropics or eastward towards Egyptian lagoons, or returned 

 whence they had come — at any rate, in Spain they were 



not. During the days spent behind our eabrestos we saw 

 hardly any of these birds. 



Another loss caused by the adverse season was the 

 absence of snipe ; they had arrived as usual, in October 

 and November, but during the rains of the following 

 month had disappeared — and not without reason, since 

 nearly the whole of their favourite haunts now lay sub- 

 merged. Among the birds which remained may be men- 

 tioned curlews, and peewits in large numbers, a few 



