Expedition to the Eastern Canary Islands. 57 



between high walls o£ lava, led out on to a flat tableland, 

 where a flock o£ Coursers and some Hoopoes were seen. 

 After speedily crossing this we found ourselves looking 

 down some 50 feet on to the Lago Januvio — a small expanse 

 of water having a shore-line two miles in lengthy which is 

 separated from the sea by a strip of beach composed of lava, 

 ground almost to dust by the continued pounding of the 

 surf. Our tents were pitched in this natural basin within 

 fifty yards of the lake, after a very long and fatiguing day. 



The following morning was spent in exploring the 

 lake and neighbourhood : my fears of the previous night 

 were only too well founded. Ornithologically the locality 

 proved most disappointing. Kentish Plovers, as usual, were 

 breeding close to the lake, and round the water's edge 

 Dunlins and a huge flock of Turnstones were feeding. We 

 walked right round the lake without seeing anything of 

 further interest. On the lava-flow, which continues into 

 the sea, a yellow Finch Avas seen — a straggler, doubtless, 

 from the African mainland ; brown Linnets were also quite 

 common, and several Kestrels were noticed. As the " Lago " 

 did not yield anything of interest we ascended to the plateau 

 above, Avhere Coursers, Shrikes, Hoopoes, and Pipits were 

 procured ; many of the Coursers were birds of the year. 

 Bishop woke me next morning to say that there was a flock 

 of Grebes on the lake : a close inspection through glasses 

 pointed to their being the Black-necked Grebe {Podiceps n. 

 nigricollis), but we were unable to shoot a specimen before 

 they flew over the dividing bank out to sea. The weather 

 was boisterous, and they had evidently come in to shelter 

 on the calm water. A plentiful species in North Africa, 

 these Grebes are very rare stragglers to the Canary Islands. 

 They have been recorded on one occasion at any rate from 

 the Azores. 



Bare and peculiar birds are evidently occasionally seen on 

 Lago Januvio by the fishermen, who remembered and de- 

 scribed to me a bird which could only have been a Plamingo. 

 The occurrence of this species on the lake has, I believe^ 

 been recorded before, but I cannot find the reference. 



