53 Mr. D. A. Bannei-mau on an Ornithological 



the Bustard feeds. From accounts which T received in this 

 district it appears that this fine bird is not nearly so common 

 as in former years, although it may be still fairly plentiful on 

 the plains round Tuineje. After leaving the Bustard we went 

 to look at a spot where a pair of Sand-Grouse [Pterocles 

 arenarius) had had their nest. The eggs had already been 

 brought in to my camp. They had been laid within the 

 shelter of a ring of stones^ where the earth appeared to have 

 been slightly hollowed and a few pieces of dried grass 

 scratched together. The birds were still close to the spot, 

 and rose as we approached. Curiously enough I did not see 

 any Coursers on this part of the plain. They seem to keep 

 to circumscribed areas where the stones are smaller and the 

 soil more sandy, often close to where corn has been sown. 

 I found the neat cup-shaped nest of a Trumpeter Bullfinch 

 built under a large stone ; it contained four fresh eggs. 

 Short-toed Larks swarmed, and wdth Hoopoes seemed 

 to be the only other inhabitants of the plain. Round the 

 camp at Antigua, Berthelot's Pipits were very common, and 

 Desert Bullfinches, Short-toed Larks, Hoopoes, and Pale 

 Swifts could be seen and heard in everj^ direction. I also 

 watched for some time a pair of Shrikes and a young 

 Saxicola d. dacotice, the latter had evidently been reared in 

 the neighbourhood and was ridiculously tame. 



While we were in this camp numbers of eggs, and young 

 birds all in more or less interesting stages of plumage, 

 were brought in ; the eggs chiefly belonged to such species 

 as Eryihrospiza g. ammitum, Anthus h. bertheloti, Calandrella 

 m. polatzeki, Acanthis c. Jiarterti, Pterocles arenariiis, and 

 Cursorius g. gallicus. The young of all the above species 

 were obtained here, with the exception of the Sand-Grouse, 

 added to which several young Hoopoes in varying stages of 

 plumage were collected. Those from the same nest differed 

 .greatly in size. 



We left Antigua on May the 16th, travelling by the only 

 road in Fuerteventura, on the last stage of our journey in this 

 island. We passed through Cuyenta and Casillas del Angel 

 over two large plains separated by undulating burnt-up 



