597 
1921 .] Winter Avifauna of the Camargue. 
and would not go on until I had spoken to it or patted it. 
The going was slow, as there were constant detours to avoid 
marshes or ponds, but at 11.30 p.m. sharp that horse halted 
before the door of its stable in the village. 
In his second paper Mr. Eagle Clarke mentioned the rapid 
advance of civilization in the Camargue, and somewhat 
pessimistically predicted the passing of the Flamingo and 
the ornithological glory of this region. I could not see that 
civilization had progressed materially since his account was 
written, and I doubt if the bird-life has decreased markedly. 
The small native population still takes a heavy toll of eggs in 
the breeding-season, but the winter bird-life seems quite safe. 
They all have guns, and most of the men went hunting every 
day I was there, but the total game of the village was two 
Mallards and one Spotted Crake : surely a negligible factor ! 
Birds were exceedingly abundant and many comparatively 
tame, the dominant features being the number and variety of 
Hawks, always noteworthy in western Europe, and the 
almost unbelieveable quantity of waterfowl. On 31 Dec., I 
saw fifty-three species of birds, and more individuals than on 
any other day anywhere where I have been in either hemi¬ 
sphere. The Etang de Yalcares was black with waterfowl 
in every direction, and the chorus of voices coming over 
the silent waters from countless thousands of Mallard and 
Widgeon made an unforgettable impression. 
On 2 Jan. the day was spent south and west of Arles. 
Birds were decidedly common, but exceedingly shy and 
wary, so much so that it was impossible in many cases to 
approach sufficiently near to identify them. 
It would be absurd to claim that the following list of species 
was complete. Still it is believed that it will give some 
definite idea of the present-day winter bird-life of this inter¬ 
esting region, about vshich no definite contributions have 
been made since the days of Crespon and his friends eighty 
years ago, when French interest in ornithology was at its 
zenith. The writer’s military duties absolutely precluded 
general collecting, which would have greatly decreased the 
time spent in the field and the amount of territory covered 
