Days' Nesting in Andalucia. 75 
myself. A clutch of two fresh eggs was brought to me on 
May 11th, and another on May 16th. 
Gecinus sharpii. 
Common locally, and a very early breeder. I found young 
more than half-grown on April 27th. One nest was in a hole in 
a large cork-tree almost on the ground. A Spanish Imperial 
Eagle had a nest in the next tree. On May 1st and May 16th 
two full sets of eggs were taken, nearly fresh ! At the base 
of the beak of the young I noticed the peculiar knob men- 
tioned by Mr. Gurney ('Zoologist/ 1901, p. 128) as occurring 
in G. viridis. 
CORACIAS GARRULUS. 
Common, but the nests are hard to find. Rollers are 
rather late breeders, and it was not till May 26th that 
we took a set of five fresh eggs from a hole in a tree. 
Another nest in a Moorish tower, on May 29th, also con- 
tained five eggs slightly incubated. Little or no actual 
nest is, however, made, as a rule ; but I watched one pair 
of birds pulling up grass and carrying it away to a distance, 
presumably for building purposes, though I failed to discover 
the breeding-place. 
Merops apiaster. 
In spite of snaring, shooting, and netting, Bee-eaters are 
still quite common, though the natives say that they are not 
nearly so numerous as formerly. They nest in the banks of 
the rivers and on roadsides, and even excavate their holes in 
the fiat ground. These slant downwards, some being nearly 
three yards long; while they are generally straight, though one 
was noticed to have a turn nearly at right angles. The holes 
seem unnecessarily large for the size of the bird, and a cavity 
is formed where the eggs are deposited. Hoopoes occasionally 
make use of old nesting-holes of the Bee-eater. It was not 
till May 24th that laying was in full progress : six eggs seem 
to be the usual complement. 
Coccystes glandarius. 
Extremely local. At the Coto Donana I never saw the 
Great Spotted Cuckoo nor did 1 find its egg, although 
Magpies'* nests were numerous; yet it was abundant sixteen 
