74 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



year. Indigenous in England, but sometimes falls a prey to the 

 severity of our winters. Builds in almost any situation ; the nest 

 is domed, consisting chiefly of moss outside, lined with hair or fea- 

 thers, and slender twigs wound round the entrance. We have seen 

 the nest consisting entirely of leaves, and others almost wholly of 

 hay. Lays from six to eight eggs, pure white, marked with small 

 red spots. The sexes are not to be distinguished, and the young 

 only differ in size from the adults. 



A male and female, two thirds of the natural size, of the White- 

 eyed Pochard — Fuligula leucophihalmos, Steph. — Milouin a-iris- 

 blanc, Fr. — Tafel Pochard, G. — Milouina penelope. It. Beautiful 

 representations, but the female is not sufficiently feathery. Com- 

 mon in France, Holland, Germany, India, and North Africa ; rare 

 in England. It is an expert diver, and strong and rapid on the 

 wing. Feeds on acquatic insects, water plants, mollusca, &c. 

 Builds amongst reeds, on the banks of rivers and morasses. Eggs 

 eight or ten, of a greenish-white colour. The female differs from 

 the male chiefly in the under parts being brown instead of white. 

 The young " have the top of the head blackish-brown, all the fea- 

 thers of the upper parts edged with reddish-brown, and the white 

 of the under part clouded with a lighter tinge of the same colour." 

 Male and female, size of life, of the Alpine Redwing — Tickodro- 

 ma AlpinOj Temm. — Tichodrome echelette, Fr. — Picchio muraiolo. 

 It. — Mauer Baumlaufer, G. These beautiful birds are well figured, 

 and the colouring is exquisite. Inhabits the middle and southern 

 portions of the continent, frequenting bleak rocks and mountains, 

 and is found on the Alps, the Apennines, and Pyrenees. Its 

 most favourite resorts are the ruins of castles and fortresses, 

 where it may be seen hopping from stone to stone. Hence the 

 name " Wall Creeper," which has sometimes been applied to it. 

 This species moults twice in the year, and there is no very material 

 difference between the sexes. The wing-coverts and part of the 

 quills are of a bright crimson. It does not occur in Britain. 



An adult and a young bird of the Red-throated Diver — Colymbus 

 septenlrionaliSi Linn, — Plongeon a-gorge-rouge, Fr. — Rothkehliger 

 Taucher, G. Nothing can be more beautiful than the plate before 

 us. Both male and female, figured two-thirds of the natural size, 

 are truly gems of ornithological painting. This is the smallest of 

 the genus, but the most abundant, being common on the European 

 coasts, and especially in the arctic regions of Europe and America. 

 In winter it is plentiful on the coasts of Holland and England, and 

 betakes itself to lakes and rivers when the seas are frozen. Feeds 



