on some Swiss Birds. 133 



The following are ray observations, more especially on 

 the Alpine species : — 



TuRDus TORQUATUs. ^' Mcrle k plastron/' " Ringamsel." 

 We found several nests of this bird in the Jura (3070 feet) 

 in May, some with eggs, and several w ith young killed by the 

 snow. On the Engstlen Alp, up to the limit of tree-growth 

 (6100 feet) we obtained some fine specimens in June, and we 

 subsequently shot a yoimg bird on the Gemmi on July 5th. 

 The Ring Ouzel passes the summer in the high forests, and 

 comes out towards evening from the forests to search for 

 worms among the alpine pastures. It arrives at the end of 

 March and departs late in September. 



Saxicola (enanthe. '' Traquet motteux," " Grauer Stein- 

 schmatzer." 



We took the nest and saw the young of the Wheatear on 

 the Gemmi (7540 feet), and also obtained its nest on the 

 Furka, at a height of 8150 feet. Although a common bird 

 in the plains, it deserves mention as it breeds at an altitude 

 as high as the Snow Finch, and is one of the few birds which 

 enliven the solitude of the glacier. 



RuTiciLLA TiTHYs. " Rougc- qucuc,'' " Haus Roth- 

 schwanz." 



The first nest we took of the Black Redstart was on June 

 13th, 1885, during an excursion to the Torrenthorn Alp ; it 

 was placed on the cross-beam of a tumble-down old chalet, 

 one of about twenty which are only inhabited in the summer, 

 when the cows and goats are on the Alps. The birds were 

 flying in and out ; but we had quite an hour's search before 

 finding a nest, which was composed chiefly of dry grass- 

 stems woven together with hair and lined with Ptarmigan's 

 feathers, and contained two eggs, of a beautiful pale rose- 

 colour before blowing, and afterwards of an extremely pure 

 white. The next spring 1 obtained a fine series of nests and 

 eggs, mostly from chalets in the environs of Leukerbad ; 

 the nests being invariably placed on the long beam which 

 runs from one end of the building to the other, and I re- 

 member seeing seven nests (three of which, however, were 



