PREHISTORIC BIRDS 3 
the oldest pictures of birds in the world, far exceeding any- 
thing which has been found in Egypt, or among the sculptures 
of Assyria. The most productive cave which has been 
explored, and the only one in southern Spain where birds 
have occurred, was that at the Tajo Segura, situated near the 
Laguna de la Janda, in the province of Cadiz, which came 
under Colonel Willoughby Verner’s investigation in 1913-14. 
The Abbé Breuil assumes as beyond question that the birds 
depicted at the Tajo Segura are of Neolithic origin, in which 
case they may be assigned an antiquity of six to eight thousand 
years. I am greatly indebted to Colonel Verner for some 
of the photographs, which were taken under difficult circum- 
stances. In his interesting account of this cavern and 
its drawings* Colonel Verner furnishes the following list of 
recognisable outlines of twelve species of birds, viz., Great 
Bustard, Crane, Wild Duck, Wild Goose, Raven, Spoonbill, 
Flamingo, Purple Gallinule, Glossy Ibis, White Stork, Eagle 
and Marsh Harrier, besides others which are doubtful. It is 
true the drawings are very crude, but in some instances the 
character of the bird or beast is caught in an unmistakable 
manner. With Colonel Verner’s permission three of the most 
characteristic are here reproduced ; these give the Flamingo, 
Duck and Purple Gallinule. It is to be observed that they 
all represent birds that are to this day characteristic Spanish 
species, which is an indication that the ornis of Spain has 
undergone very little alteration in this great lapse of time. 
Neolithic man was more advanced in many ways than we are 
apt to suppose, and very cunning in the chase of beasts and 
birds, whose habits, from continual watching, were well known 
to him. ‘“ That Neolithic man,’’ observes Colonel Verner in 
one of his articles, ‘inhabiting this district was a keen 
hunter, is proved by his numerous drawings of the beasts 
of the chase, notably Red Deer and Ibex ; also by the repre- 
sentations of men armed with bows in pursuit of the same. 
All the animals thus shown as having formed his quarry in 
ancient times exist to this day in southern Spain. It is the 
same with the birds.” This undoubtedly adds very much to 
their interest in the eyes of a modern naturalist. In the 
vicinity of the caves, or at no great distance, there are still 
* «Country Life,” July 28th, 1914. 
