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Lord Lilford on the Ornithology of Spain . 
goats, lambs, and the like was to be found. From Las Ynfantas 
Manuel brought in an Eagle which I took to be a specimen of 
Aquila neevioides; but Mr. J. H. Gurney, to whose decision in 
such matters I most respectfully bow, pronounces it to be an 
Imperial Eagle (A. heliaca). This specimen is in a very bleached 
and singular-looking state of plumage, and in colouring very 
much resembles the ordinary plumage of A. ncevioides. Manuel 
pronounced it to be a very old bird which had long ceased to 
breed and was leading a solitary life on the wilds of Las 
Ynfantas. 
On May 21st some boys brought in two young Spotted 
Cuckoos, which fed greedily on chopped beef and hard-boiled 
eggs, flies, beetles, grasshoppers, and so forth. Agapo brought 
in three more a few days afterwards; and I succeeded in bringing 
three of these birds safely to England, and kept them in good 
health till about the middle of last March, when they all died in 
one week, though apparently quite strong and well, and certainly 
very voracious to the last. They are sulky and quarrelsome 
birds, only interesting from their peculiarities and rarity as 
cage-birds in this country. We obtained a good many more 
specimens of birds previously mentioned, and a considerable 
number of eggs; and on May 26th Manuel knocked down a 
magnificent male Bustard ( Otis tarda) which rose at a few 
paces from the carriage in which we were. We marked him 
down, and Manuel after a clever stalk got within shot, and gave 
him the contents of both barrels as he rose. He did not appear 
to be seriously hurt, and attempted to cross the valley of the 
Tagus; but a violent squall of wind forced him back towards us, 
and he fell headlong into a field of standing wheat, in which 
Manuel, Agapo, and his dog sought him in vain for upwards 
of an hour. This was the only Great Bustard which we met 
with near Aranjuez; but the species is common in suitable 
localities throughout Spain, and several eggs were subsequently 
brought to me from the environs of Madrid. I was assured 
in Andalucia that a considerable number of Great Bustards 
remain in the plains about Seville during the whole year, but 
that they receive great reinforcements in February and the 
beginning of March, and that the birds which arrive from the 
