Days- Nesting in Andalucia. 79 
MiLVUS ICTINUS. 
The Red Kite is much more local than the Black Kite 
and not nearly so plentiful. Like most of the resident birds, 
it breeds earJy. From April the 27th to the 29th we found 
several nests, but they all contained young or eggs on the 
point of hatching ; one nest had three eggs without spots. 
Most of the Red Kite's nests had three eggs (about eleven 
nests were found) ; whereas I saw dozens of those of the 
Black Kite, but only found three eggs in a few cases, even 
when incubation was far advanced. 
MiLVUS MIGRANS. 
The Black Kite is very common, sometimes breeding in 
small colonies, and in one of the pine- woods I counted twenty- 
three birds in the air together. The first eggs were seen on 
April 16th, but laying did not fully commence till quite ten 
days later. I could see no difference between the nests of 
this and of the last species ; both were adorned with '^ lesser 
linen''' and once with cigarette-paper and some old printed 
matter. Personally I found no lottery-tickets, but I know 
of one having been found ! The eggs are generally smaller 
and rounder than those of the Red Kite. 
Falco tinnunculus. 
Abundant, laying in old nests of the Kite, Raven, and 
Buzzard, also in holes of trees, and often in old nests of 
Magpies; fresh eggs were found from April 16th. 
Falco cenchris. 
The Lesser Kestrel is not so common as the last-named, 
and breeds much later. The first eggs taken, an incomplete 
clutch of three, were in a hole in a tree on May 10th. On 
May 27th I took clutches of four and five from similar holes, 
very slightly incubated and fresh. One set of eggs, on which 
I caught the old bird, was not five feet from the ground. On 
May 29th fresh clutches of four and five respectively were 
taken from an old Moorish tower, and, judging from the 
number of birds flying round, many of them had not even 
then begun to lay. 
Ardea purpurea. 
Purple Herons were very numerous ; their large nests are 
