190 



Unexplored Spain 



who brought in no less than 393 ducks in one day ! His late 

 ^lajesty, King Alfonso XII., comes second with 381 ducks shot 

 in three hours and a half. On his second visit, on hearing that 

 he had secured his century, His Majesty stopped shooting, being 

 more interested to watch the fowl passing overhead. His total 

 was 127. King Alfonso XIII. had an unlucky day here — rain and 

 storm — hence he only totalled ninety odd. Many years ago, our 

 late friend, Santiago Udaeta, was credited with 270 ducks to his 

 own gun in one day. 



These bags are truly enormous, for, big as it is, Daimiel is not 

 a patch in size as compared with our own marismas of the 



. .^'^^>^ 



-^1^-^r^C 



RED-CRESTED POCHARD— AN IMPRESSION AT DAIMIEL 



Guadalquivir. There is here, on the other hand, abundant cover 

 to conceal the ouns, which is not the case with us. 



It was at Daimiel that we first made acquaintance with the 

 red-crested pochard — a handsome and truly striking species, 

 smart in build, colour, action, and every attribute. A bushy 

 red head outstretched on a very long neck contrasts with the jet- 

 black breast, while the white " speculum " on the wings shows up 

 conspicuous as a transparency, especially when a band passes over- 

 head in the azure vault, or splashes down on reed-girt shallow — 

 one actually seems to see through the gauzy texture of their 

 quills. These ducks breed in numbers at Daimiel, as do also 

 mallards, garganey, and ferruginous ducks, together with stilts, 

 grebes, and herons of all denominations. Greatly do we regret 

 that our experience at Daimiel does not include the spring-season 

 with all its unknown ornithological possibilities. An unfortunate 



