174 Lord Lilford on the Ornithology of Spain. 
Louis Michel, who had been for four years in their employment, 
and to whom I am indebted for the excellent condition of my 
specimens, and for very agreeable companionship during my stay 
in Spain. We arrived in Madrid, by way of Paris and Irun, 
on the 3rd of April 1865, and I at once set about trying to ob¬ 
tain permission to explore the Sitios Reales , or royal preserves. 
I found considerable difficulty in making my Spanish friends 
understand or believe that I only wished to shoot birds for pre¬ 
servation, and not to kill game; and in spite of the great kind¬ 
ness of Her Majesty's minister, Sir John Crampton, and Senor 
Banuelos, of the Spanish Foreign Office, I did not receive the 
required authority till April 15th. In the mean time, I had 
ransacked the very scanty stores of the only two professional 
bird-stuffers in Madrid, Senor M. Sanches, of the museum in the 
Calle de Alcala, and Senor Severini, in the Carretera de San (Je¬ 
ronimo; but although they both had a good many specimens, 
some of which were of considerable interest, most of them were 
in such an extremely bad state of preservation as to be worthless. 
I, however, managed to pick out fair specimens of Aquila heliaca, 
Bubo maximus, Oxylophus glandarius , Cyanopica cooki, and 
Pterocles arenarius, besides a few eggs. In the markets I met with 
nothing of great interest, but procured some fine specimens of 
Otis tetrax in full breeding-plumage. 
I had been told by several persons that in the grounds of the 
Casa de Campo, a small country-house belonging to the Queen, 
to the south-west of Madrid, a good many birds of different sorts 
were to be met with; and I was particularly recommended to apply 
to the King's head-chasseur (who lived in these grounds) for 
information and assistance in everything relating to beasts and 
birds. Accordingly, on the 8th of April, I sallied out by the 
Puerta de San Miguel, and, crossing the Manzanares by the 
Puente de Toledo, soon found myself at the gates of the royal 
demesne. On inquiry at the porter's lodge I found that Manuel 
de la Torre, the chasseur above mentioned, was away on a shoot¬ 
ing-expedition, but was expected back every day. I roamed 
about for some hours amongst the groves and alleys of the 
Casa de Campo, and was much interested by the birds I saw. 
The beautiful Spanish Magpie, Cyanopica cooki , was very abun- 
