Flamingoes 267 



City," with its hundreds of big eggs all massed together — a boat- 

 load for the gathering — represents an El Dorado. As early as 1872 

 eggs were brought to us — taken by our own marshmen on May 

 24 — but it was not till 1883 that we enjoyed seeing an occupied 

 nest-colony ourselves. 



More than a quarter-century has sped since then, yet we 

 cannot do better than substantially transcribe the narrative as 

 recorded in Wild Spain. 



During the month of April we searched the marismas 

 systematically for the nesting-places of flamingoes, but, though 

 exploring large areas — riding many leagues in all directions 

 through mud and water varying from a few inches to full three 

 feet in depth — yet no sign of nests was then encountered. 

 Flamingoes there were in thousands, together with a wealth of 

 aquatic bird-life that we will not stop here to describe. But the 

 water was still too deep, the mud-flats and new-born islets not 

 yet sufliciently dried for purposes of nidification. The only species 

 that actually commenced to lay in April were the coots, purple 

 herons, peewits, Kentish plovers, stilts, redshanks, and a few more. 



April was clearly too early, and the writer lost nearly a 

 week through an attack of ague, brought on by constant 

 splashing about in comparatively cold water while a fierce sun 

 always beat down on one's head. In May the luck improved. 

 Far away to the eastward flamingoes had always been most 

 numerous, and once or twice we observed (early in May) signs 

 that resembled the first rude beginnings of architecture, and 

 encouraged us to persevere in what had begun to appear an 

 almost hopeless quest. 



May 9 (1883). — The effects of dawn over the vast desolations 

 of the marisma were specially lovely this morning. Before sun- 

 rise the distant peaks of the Serrania de Ronda (seventy miles 

 away) lay flooded in a blood-red light, and appearing quite twice 

 their usual height. Half an hour later the mountains sank back 

 in a golden glow, and long before noon had utterly vanished in 

 quivering heat-haze and the atmospheric fantasies of infinite space. 

 Amidst chaotic confusion of mirage efl'ects we rode out across the 

 wilderness : at first over dry mud -flats sparsely carpeted with 

 dwarf scrub of marsh plants, or in places bare and naked, the 

 sun-scorched surface cracked into rhomboids and parallelograms, 

 and honeycombed with yawning cattle-tracks made long ago 



