214 PH(EN T ICOPTERID^E. 



marisma near the Isla Menor, and, by the aid of a stalking-horse, 

 managed to shoot five at a shot. Usually they are extremely 

 wild and shy, except during actual passage, when they alight to 

 rest at the mouths of rivers. 



Their note is not unlike that of the Grey-lag Goose, and more 

 than once at night I have mistaken the sound for that of these 

 Geese. 



Verner sends the following extract from his journal for the 

 year 1879 : " On the 27th of May, whilst in the marismas of the 

 Guadalquivir, I made an expedition with Crown Prince Rudolf to 

 obtain some Flamingoes' eggs, of which he wanted some Spanish 

 specimens. After a long and tedious ride across the waste we 

 finally left hard ground and traversed the mud-flats ; these were 

 either sun-baked or sticky, and for the last two miles or so were 

 mostly covered with shallow water. The mud, where not dry, 

 was very slippery, and two of our party (including myself) took 

 a mud-bath, owing to our horses slipping and falling. 



" After what seemed an endless journey under the broiling 

 sun, we sighted an enormous flock of some thousands of 

 Flamingoes, at where, the Spaniards said, was their usual nesting- 

 station. When at a good distance from them they took wing, 

 except a few which remained dotted about, and apparently 

 crouching down on the mud. The day was extremely hot, and 

 the usual mirage was intensified by the steamy exhalations from 

 the fast-drying mud. Through this shimmering atmosphere the 

 great flock of Flamingoes on the wing presented an extraordinary 

 sight, resembling a drifting cloud, which seemed to change colour 

 from a rosy pink to snowy white as the mass of birds wheeled and 

 turned in their flight. On reaching the spot where the birds 

 had remained behind when the main flock flew off, we found a 

 few eggs (of which I myself took two) lying on small mud- 

 hillocks raised above the water and slush ; these eggs were 

 fresh, white, tapered at both ends, and with the chalky surface 

 of a Cormorant's egg. 



