this gentleman is the only English writer with whom I 

 am acquainted who has pubHshed any details of conse- 

 quence as to the breeding-habits of the present species. 



Alhiding to a visit to the island of Fuerteventura 

 in 1888, Mr. Meade-Waldo writes {loc. supra cit. 

 pp. 505, 506) of a second visit in February 1889, as 

 follows : — " I got on better this year at finding the 

 nests of Cursorius galliciis, but they are certainly very 

 difficult to discover. This is caused by the perfectly 

 open country, the bird being of the same colour as the 

 ground and never betraying fear or uneasiness, and the 

 eggs being exactly like the stones that cover the plain. 

 There is really no nest, the bigger stones being just 

 moved away to make room for the bird to sit upon the 

 two eggs. The young are much easier to find than 

 the eggs. The hen only remains at the nest whilst she 

 is sitting ; the cocks either go about in little parties 

 or mix with birds that are not breeding. "When the 

 young are hatched, however, both parents care for 

 them, the male being rather more shy than the hen. 

 It is easy to tell the cock from the hen while running 

 about ; he carries himself much higher and seems to 

 have a bigger head ; when shot, this difference vanishes. 

 The males breed in their first year, as two that I shot 

 were in partly spotted plumage. Nevertheless, many 

 do not breed at all, as I saw flocks of some fifteen to 

 forty birds, whilst others had eggs or small young. In 

 flocks they were very wild, and reminded one generally 

 of Lapwings ; they skim a great deal with outstretched, 

 motionless wings. Their note is a low qua qua when 

 they have young. When shot this bird ejects a 



