Expedition to the Eastern Canary Islands. 53 



country, with hardly a sign of bird-life save the ever present 

 Short-toed Larks, Hoopoes, and a few Shrikes. I had not 

 seen very many Shrikes so far, and none in the sandy plumage 

 which Mr. Meade-Waldo mentions, although several which 

 I shot appeared to be moulting out of rather sandy-coloured 

 feathers into the grey of the adult freshly-moulted bird. 

 At midday we arrived on the plateau immediately above 

 Puerto Cabras, aud pitched our camp on some private 

 ground close to a farm. Here we repacked our Fuerte- 

 venturan collection for my wife to take back to Las Palmas 

 the following day, while we w"aited for the little interinsular 

 boat to take us to Lanzarote. The collection from Fuerte- 

 ventura numbered 123 birds, &3 eggs, 4 bats, 2 hedgehogs, 

 and a rabbit, besides a fair series of botanical and entomo- 

 logical specimens. As we had twenty-four hours to spend 

 before our boat came in, we employed the time in collecting 

 in the neighbourhood. Swifts are very common here, and 

 a number were obtained both of Micropus nairinus brehmorum 

 and M. u. unicoior. The former now had all very white 

 throats. I was anxious to see if they were breeding in the 

 same place along the coast as Mr. Meade- Waldo had found 

 them on April the Ist, 1888, so, with this object in view, I 

 followed the coast-line for some distance south of Puerto 

 Cabras. Waders were very scarce, only Kentish Plovers and 

 Turnstones being seen — many of the latter in full breeding- 

 plumage. Larus cachinnans was common, but I did not see 

 a single example of Larus fuscus affinis. 



I found the cliffs which Mr. Meade- Waldo spoke of in 

 his paper, just as he described them. They appeared to be 

 formed of a kind of hard sandstone and were full of holes 

 Avhich looked as if they had been made by the action of water, 

 so even were they. Certainly they are not now used as nest- 

 ing-places by the Pale Swift. Only one hole appeared to be 

 occupied, and this was considerably larger than the majority 

 and was, I think, inhabited by a Kestrel. The coast to the 

 south of Puerto Cabras is very rocky. Immediately beyond 

 the cliffs mentioned above lies a sandy cove bordered by 

 sand-dunes which are closely overgrown with a curious 

 Euphorbia-like plant. 



