Expedition to the Eastern Canary Islands. 83 



like a watch-tower, the Campanario del Roque del Este. 

 Both peaks belong to the south-west wall of a great crater 

 the bottom of which is covered by the sea/' 



"■ El Roque ^' is plainly seen from Lanzarote, and its 

 precipitous cliffs look highly formidable from this distance. 

 It is notevTorthy chiefly on account of the Gulls, Larus 

 cacJdnnans, which breed there in April. I enquired of the 

 fishermen whether they had ever seen a large Black-backed 

 Gull amongst the others; they did not, however, appear 

 to know the bird, although Larus marinus is said to breed 

 on one of the deserted islets. A number of eggs of the 

 former species, which had been taken earlier in the year, 

 were brought to me. The fishermen told me that two 

 Falcons "were eating up all the seafowl on the Rock'M 

 As I could not land there I did not discover what 

 Petrels were breeding, if any. I had hoped to find a 

 breeding-station iti the Canary Islands of the pretty little 

 Fi'igate Petrel [Pelagodroma marina). The fishermen, who 

 knew the bird well, informed me that they seldom saw it in 

 the Canary Seas, but said it was to be found in hundreds 

 round the Salvage Islands, which is, of course, true. In 

 the Canary Islands the bird is called " El bailerino " 

 — i. e. The Dancer — from its habit of dangling its legs on 

 the waves. It is curious that it does not breed in the 

 Canary Archipelago, as it does so in the Cape Verde and 

 Salvage Islands. 



Having spent so much of our precious time imprisoned 

 in Graciosa, owing to the inclement weather, I was forced, 

 as I have already mentioned, to give up any idea of visiting 

 AUegranza in person, and therefore decided to send my 

 taxidermist to that island, while I remained on, and 

 thoroughly explored, Montana Clara. Two days after our 

 arrival in the latter island I sent Bishop to AUegranza, 

 arranging to meet him in seven days' time at Haria in 

 Lanzarote, from which town we were to begin our journey 

 homewards. The two islands were therefore worked con-' 

 currently, and the adoption of this plan was quite justified 



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