420 WILD SPAIN. 



The largest bag we can find recorded in our game-books 

 is 52 brace in a day ; but believe this has been, and 

 certainly easily might be, largely exceeded. At certain 

 passage-periods the Andalucian vegas simply swarm with 

 this dashing little game-bird, and at such times, with dogs 

 well entered to quail, very large bags might be secured by 

 any one specially following them. 



One afternoon, when returning from snipe-shooting, we 

 fell in with an cut r ad a of quail, in a belt of dry rush and 

 sedges, and had bagged 275^ couples in much less than an 

 hour, when daylight and cartridges ran short. 



Andalucian Quail. — Unlike its larger relative, this small 

 quail is not migratory ; a few are found at all seasons, 

 especially on the dry palmetto-plains, where at dusk its 

 curious " roaring " note, from which is derived its Spanish 

 name tor/Wo = little bull, is often audible. 



Our friend, Mr. W. E. Teage, meets with a few of this 

 small bush-quail nearly every year when shooting near 

 Ovar, in Portugal — generally in September. 



The Crane. 

 Spanish, GruUa. 



He who eats the flesh of crane, runs a Spanish proverb, 

 lives a hundred years* — and beyond all question the stately 

 Grulla is one of the wariest and most difficult birds to 

 circumvent. '* 



Cranes are common enough throughout all the open 

 vegas and corn-growing plains of Andalucia from early 

 autumn till spring : few days but one sees them either 

 passing high overhead in loudly-gaggling skeins, or feeding 

 in troops on the newly-sown beans or wheat. In the latter 

 case, cranes are not infrequently mistaken for bustard, but 

 rarely permit the cordon of mounted men to be drawn 

 around their position ; for, though rarely sought after, the 

 crane is imbued with even wilder spirit than the much- 

 jjrized bustard. For many years, the few Grullas we suc- 



■■' " Quien come carne de Gnilla, vive cien ai'ios." 



