File:Essays and photographs. Some birds of the Canary Islands and South Africa (1901) (14568737700).jpg

Identifier: essaysphotograph00harr (find matches)
Title: Essays and photographs. Some birds of the Canary Islands and South Africa
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Harris, Henry E
Subjects: Birds -- Canary Islands Birds -- South Africa
Publisher: London, R. H. Porter
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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idy-looking nest, as shown in theillustration here reproduced. There is scarcely anydifference, to a casual observer, between these Robinsand those with which we are familiar in England ; thepeasants call them Pajaro dc San Antonio—Bird ofSaint Anthony. One of the birds peculiar to the island of Tenerifeis the Teydean Chaffinch. This species, w^hich is alsoknown as the Blue Chaffinch, inhabits the pine forestson the higher slopes of the mountains ; it breeds verylate in the season, and as I left Tenerife in June, I wasunable to obtain photographs either of the bird itself orof its nest. We expected to meet with it at Vilaflor,but saw nothing of it there, although we were shown aspring where these birds were said to come and drink,and where the peasants used to snare them. Many of the birds of Tenerife have a hard struggleto rear their young, not that they are harassed bymany natural enemies, but the land is worked in suchsmall holdings, and men and boys are so constantly PLATK XVin.
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NEST OF TENERIFE ROBIN. (Erithacus superbus.) THE NORTH COAST OF TENERIFE 83 passing over almost every yard of the ground, that thenests are naturally discovered, and when discovered,destroyed. Their natural enemies are few, save in thewooded districts on the mountains, where there aremany Sparrow Hawks. As a rule the birds of preyare more of scavengers than hunters, and the PeregrineFalcon, a bird whose requirements would seem to bemet in every way in this island, appeared to be con-spicuous by its absence. A friend of mine, who livedat Las Palmas, in Grand Canary, told me that a fewyears ago he saw a pair of these birds near the town ;one of them stooped at, and killed, a pigeon out of aflock of those birds, which fell to the ground, but wasimmediately seized upon by some Vultures, so theFalcons had to kill again for themselves. Kestrels are very common in Tenerife, and it israrely that one or more of these birds is not in the air,hovering over the dry rocky ground in search of liza

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