300 BIRD-HUNTING 



these were nests of this Shrike, and there was 

 another one at the back. The birds may be seen 

 in every direction, sitting on the telegraph wires, 

 as do the Bee-eaters and Rollers, and on the 

 small oak-trees and acacias. We found numbers 

 of their nests ; they are generally at a height of 

 at least fifteen or twenty feet. The outside of 

 these nests is made of twigs of a whitish colour, 

 exactly like the nests of the Woodchat Shrike in 

 Spain, and there is almost always some of the 

 strongly-smelling aromatic vermouth worked into 

 the nest. This plant grows abundantly, and covers 

 the ground like a weed wherever it is left unculti- 

 vated. Five clutches were common, and we found 

 several of six and seven. 



On the ground among the vermouth we found 

 several nests of Emberiza hortulana, the Ortolan 

 Bunting, and no doubt the Calandra Lark also 

 nested there. We saw many of these large larks, 

 but did not happen to find a nest. 



On the 2 1 st of May we took two eggs of the 

 Great Bustard {Otis tarda) ; and on the same day a 

 young Golden Oriole in greenish-yellow plumage 

 was shot. I took it for a female, but on dissection 

 it proved to be a male ; it must therefore have been 

 a bird of the previous year. I should have expected 

 this bird to have acquired its full adult plumage 

 sooner. 



