Vol. xxv.] 124 



had offered an explanation which seemed likely to be the 

 correct one. It was well known that the mortality in spring 

 among male Grouse was much greater than among females, 

 the proportion being as nine to one. 



Dr. Wilson suggested that after a hard winter and in- 

 sufficient food, the male Grouse being in low condition, and 

 suffering more or less from strongylosis (at least 95 per cent, 

 of the birds being affected by the nematode worm which causes 

 this disease), found themselves unable to meet the demands 

 of the pairing-season and at the same time to go through 

 the exhaustive process of a spring-moult. The postponement 

 of the latter, at first a matter of necessity, had gradually 

 become an established habit. 



The Hon. E. S. Montagu gave a very interesting account 

 of a recent visit to Southern Spain, where he had gone 

 with a view to studying the nesting-habits of birds and 

 to obtain the eggs of certain species. The season had, 

 however, proved extremely unfavourable, owing to the 

 drought in the early part of the year, and many of the 

 birds, such as the Herons and Terns, which he had particu- 

 larly wished to observe had not nested at all. 



Mr. Jourdain said that in two out of the three years in 

 which he had visited Spain (1905 and 1907) the conditions 

 closely approximated to those prevailing at the time of 

 Mr. Montagu's visit. He was under the impression that 

 droughts had been more frequent of late years than they 

 had been formerly. In such seasons the Waders and Terns 

 did not breed at all, or only in very small numbers, and 

 the great breeding-places of the Herons, Spoonbills, and 

 Flamingoes were entirely deserted. The irregularity in the 

 breeding-season which had been noticed was perhaps partly 

 due to some of the earlier nests having been taken, and also 

 to the fact that some of the species mentioned reared two 

 broods in the season, while the extraordinarily restricted 

 range of some species, especially of the Spanish Blue 

 Magpie (Cyanopolius cooki), was very remarkable, and had 

 been noticed by several observers. 



