OTIDIB.E. 253 



On the Spanish side I failed to meet with this Crane near 

 Casas Viejas, but strongly suspect that in some seasons they nest 

 there ; indeed a pair of Cranes' eggs that were brought to me 

 were so small that I could not refer them to the Common Crane, 

 but could of course obtain no reliable information about them. 

 Indeed, an egg unidentified is worse than useless to the ornitho- 

 logist ; and unless the collector takes and identifies specimens 

 himself, he had better not keep them. 



In the marisma of the Guadalquivir there is no doubt that 

 in former years the present species used frequently to breed. 

 Specimens are often to be obtained near Seville during March, 

 April, and the early part of May, and again in August. Judging 

 from this, they must nest somewhere a little further north. 



General colour bluish grey, sides of the head, throat, neck, the lengthened 

 pointed feathers on upper breast, and quill-feathers black; from each eye 

 a tuft of lengthened white feathers extending backwards. Length 30 

 inches. 



OTIDIDJE. No hind toe. 



279. Otis tarda, Linnaeus. The Great Bustard. 



Spanish. Abutarda. 



Favier states that this Bustard " occasionally migrates to 

 Morocco during winter from the European side of the Straits, 

 but very rarely remains for the breeding-season." 



I have seen one or two specimens obtained near Tangier, and 

 Mr. Drake also mentions one ; whilst Mr. Meade-Waldo kindly 

 informs me that in the spring of 1892 he met with many, and 

 saw one band of twenty-three. He found a male on a small 

 plain which when fired at flew round and round, not seeming to 

 like to pass over the hills ; at last he got right up, and went 

 away like a goose. 



On the Spanish side of the Straits the Great Bustard is first 

 to be met with near Gibraltar on the plain below Facinas, about 

 ten or twelve miles from Tarifa ; northwards from there they are 



