CHAPTER XXXIX 
SPRING-TIME IN THE MARISMAS 
BIRD-LIFE IN A DRY SEASON 
BirD-LIFE in the Spanish marisma—in spring no less than in 
winter—presents spectacles of such abounding variety as can 
nowhere in Europe be sur- 
passed. In the Arctic are vaster 
aggregations, but these, com- 
prising, say, only half-a-dozen 
species, are less attractive. It 
is the infinite kaleidoscopic 
succession of graceful and dis- 
similar forms that hour by hour : 
flash on one’s sight—in a GREY PLOVER (May) 
word, it is variety that lends 
abiding charm to our Spanish bird-world. 
These scenes have already been described—we have ourselves 
described them in detail, and do not propose to recapitulate, 
alluring though the subject be. 
Here we purpose depicting bird-life under undescribed 
conditions—in a spring when, by reason of exceptional drought, 
the myriad marsh-dwellers find themselves entirely at fault. 
Winging their seasonal way from Africa, to seek the seclusion of 
reed-girt pools and their accustomed league-long swamps and 
shallows, they found instead a calcined plain, no drop of water 
remaining, plant-life either prematurely parched or pulverised 
beneath a fiery sun. Watching the arrival of the advance-guard 
in early spring, one wondered what the bewildered hosts would 
do next, how they would face this fresh freak of nature. 
The marismas, it should be explained, normally dry every 
summer, however wet the previous winter may have been. 
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