20 BIRD-HUNTING 



I think that if we had procured a bigger bait, say 

 a goat or a lamb, we should have had a better 

 chance of success. They told me that if we could 

 wait for five or six weeks for the next bull-fight we 

 should be certain of success, for the carcases of the 

 unfortunate horses would be thrown over the cliff 

 near where we were, and the Griffons would assemble 

 from far and wide for the feast. This, however, we 

 could not do, for we had made arrangements to visit 

 Malaga and the surrounding country before going 

 to the maris mas. 



But before taking this journey we were tempted 

 by the waiter at our hotel to make a day's expedition 

 to a small place along the line at no very great 

 distance, where he declared we could see Vultures 

 on their nests close to the railway station. 



As Prince Rudolf in his book describes just 

 such a nesting colony of Griffons somewhere in 

 this region, but without mentioning the name of 

 the place, we went off in full expectation of seeing 

 them at least, even if it should be impracticable 

 to do anything more. But our waiter had either 

 made a mistake in naming the station, or he had 

 imagined the whole thing, for on alighting we found 

 ourselves in the midst of a plain, with no possible 

 nesting-place of Vultures within two or three 

 miles. 



As there was no return train for many hours we 



