. Unexplored Spain. Hunting; Natural history. 266 Unexplored Spain Howard Saunders, ibid., 1869, and the same authority in the Ibis, 1871, pp. 394 e« seq. The late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, who visited Spain in May 1879, lilvewise failed to reach the nesting spot—apparently through the usual cause, not going far enough—though a few eggs were found scattered on the wet mud of the marisma. (Recorded by Lord Lilford as aljove.) Thus the question remained unsettled till 1883, when a favouring season enabled the present authors to succeed where greater ornithologists had striven in vain. A v
. Unexplored Spain. Hunting; Natural history. 266 Unexplored Spain Howard Saunders, ibid., 1869, and the same authority in the Ibis, 1871, pp. 394 e« seq. The late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, who visited Spain in May 1879, lilvewise failed to reach the nesting spot—apparently through the usual cause, not going far enough—though a few eggs were found scattered on the wet mud of the marisma. (Recorded by Lord Lilford as aljove.) Thus the question remained unsettled till 1883, when a favouring season enabled the present authors to succeed where greater ornithologists had striven in vain. A venerable apologue attaches to the nesting habit of the flamingo. Owing to the length of its legs, it was assumed that O o o O '. tlie bu'd could not incubate in the ordinary manner of birds, and that, therefore, it stood astraddle on a nest built up to the requisite height — a combination of unproved assumption with inconsec[uential deduction. 'Twere ungracious to be wise after the event, yet, in fact, this fable passed current as " Natural History" for precisely two centuries—from 1683, when Dampier so described the nesting of flamingoes on the Cape de Verde Islands,-' till 1883, when the present authors had opportunity of observing a flamingo-colony in southern Spain. Flamingoes do not nest every year in the Spanish marismas. Their doing so depends on the season, and only in very wet years is tlie attem[)t made. Rarely, even then, are young hatched off, so persistently are the wastes raided by egg-lifters, who sweep up by wholesale every edible thing, and to whom a Flamingo Damjiicr, Xciv Vuijayc round the H'orld, 2nd eJ., i. p. 71 ; London, 169'.'.. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Chapman, Abel, 1851-1929; Buck, Walter John. joint author. London, E. Arnold
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