68 Mr. H. l<^oh\e—Fortj/-four 
impertiuence for one who lias done so little to venture to 
take up his pen ; yet, on the principle that '' every little 
helps," I send to ' The Ibis ' a few notes on the district 
extending from a few miles south of Seville to the mouth 
of the Guadalquiver near San Lucar. 
To my mind, the great charm of a birds'-nesting trip to 
the south of Spain consists in the fact that many species 
which may be common in one spot are not found ten or 
fifteen miles further on ; others taking their place, even when, 
to the human eye, the country seems to be equally suited 
to their requirements. Practically the breeding-season lasts 
from January to July, beginning with the Bearded Vulture 
in the first month, and ending with the Flamingo and Black- 
bellied Sand-Grouse; but, owing to the short time at ray 
disposal, I missed many of the earlier species and a few of 
the later breeders. The actual days in the field numbered 
forty-four, and two others were wasted : .one in seeing a 
bull-fight, the other on account of an election, when my 
men fell victims to the bottle ! The drawbacks to Anda- 
lucia seem to me to be much exaggerated : the climate is 
hot, but otherwise perfect, and although snakes, scorpions, 
leeches, and lizards abound, the visitor soon gets used to 
them ; mosquitoes, however, are a trouble, especially when he 
is blowing eggs or skinning birds late at night. The peasants 
are civil, and if they would not shoot every game-bird and 
duck from its nest, and eat all the eggs on which they can 
lay their hands, I should like them very well. It was heart- 
breaking to find dozens of egg-shells of the Slender-billed 
Gull lying outside a horse-keeper^s house, the contents 
having been eaten ! 
The first nest was taken on April 14th and the last on 
May 29tli; but, although the days were few in number, our 
hours of work were long — often from 5.30 a.m. till dark ; then 
blowing eggs continued till after 12 p.m. In all, eggs of 
ninety-four species were taken or seen, and I believe that 
one is I'ecorded from Spain for the first time, namely the 
Pintail [Dafila acuta). I was fortunate in obtaining permis- 
sion to visit several Cotos, and my thanks are especially due to 
