on some Swiss Birds. 185 



Accentor collaris. " Accenteur des Alpes," " Alpeu- 

 lerch/' 



It was in the Gemmi, on the 17th June, 1885, that I first 

 heard the sweet song of the '^ Alpenlerch/' as it is called in 

 Switzerland. A slight noise on my left made me look round, 

 and I saw one of these birds within four yards of me, perched 

 on a flat stone. After looking well at me for several 

 minutes, he began to sing — such a sweet joyous song, re- 

 minding me much of a Pipit, but with something very 

 plaintive in it. He sang on for quite five minutes without 

 moving from the stone, so I had good time to observe him : 

 the eye has just the same quiet expression so characteristic 

 of our Hedge Accentor ; but the '^ Alpenlerch "" is much 

 ro buster in form, and the legs are a lovely and conspicuous 

 yellow-pink. I may here observe that this bird may be kept 

 in a cage by feeding it on the same food as the Warblers, 

 my friend M. Coleman, of Chaux-de-Fonds, having often kept 

 them without difficulty. From the Gemmi we went to the 

 Engstlen Alp, and on excursions to and about the Joch Pass 

 (7200 feet) we again met with this bird. On the 27th June 

 we found a pair which evidently had a nest, though we were 

 not fortunate enough to find it ; nevertheless I will shortly 

 describe our search, as it will give an idea of the sort of 

 ground on which they breed — moreover, too, as the nest we 

 subsequently obtained was from the neighbouring Hasliberg, 

 where the country has just the same character as the Engstlen 

 Alp. We went some way without seeing Alpine Accentors, 

 though the place looked just suitable for them, rough broken 

 ground, covered with a thick scrub of the alpine rose and other 

 dwarf shrubs; at last, however, we came upon several pairs 

 hopping aboTit a sort of wall of rock, to which they would 

 persist in returning as soon as we had gone to some little 

 distance ofi"; we then sat down to watch, but though we 

 saw them enter several times into likely-looking places, holes 

 and crevices, we searched every one, as we thought, without 

 success. That at least one pair had a nest here is, I think, 

 most probable, from their so constantly returning to the 

 same place ; that they had eggs is also probable, as I 



