on some Swiss Birds. 141 



then we saw a pair of Kestrels, and then a pair of Buzzards, 

 one of which kept mounting the air in circles till almost lost 

 to sight. It suddenly (as I saw clearly through my glass) 

 began to hover, in the same way as a Kestrel, then, partially 

 shutting its wings, came down at a great rate, just as a Lark 

 does, after soaring, the last few yards before reaching the 

 ground — an action I never observed in a Buzzard before. 



We now began to descend, and our next find was a nest of 

 Parus horealis in an old tree-stump, quite finished, but with 

 no eggs ; according to my friend, this species always breeds 

 in old stumps. Not far from here he showed me a fir 

 tree in which he and the chasseur who was with us had 

 taken a Nutcracker's nest three years ago, early in March, 

 the snow being then some two feet deep in the forests. I 

 took a large piece of lichen from the tree as a souvenir. We 

 only heard the Nutcracker once that day, although keeping a 

 good look-out. We next found a nest of the Firecrest ; the 

 old birds were very tame^ hopping about within a few feet of 

 us. At 5 o'clock we had our tea on a small plateau, with a 

 magnificent view of the distant Alps, now tinged a lovely 

 rose-colour by the setting sun ; the sky, too, was a rich 

 pinkish yellow, and the Lake of Neuchatel below us as 

 smooth as glass and reflecting even the smoke of the steam- 

 boat. While sitting here, a Black Woodpecker flew across, 

 littering its shrill note ; and our chasseur said he knew of a 

 nest with young, but that it is by no means common in 

 these forests. He also told us that he had seen the first 

 Quail that morning, and also a Blackcock and two Grey- 

 hens. We got back to Chaux-de-Fonds about 9 o'clock, after 

 a most enjoyable ramble after birds in the Jura. 



LiNOTA RUFESCENS, ViciUot. 



Of six specimens, all shot on the Engstleu Alp, one 

 only had the breast red. I also observed this bird on the 

 Gemmi, where it was very plentiful, frequenting the rising 

 ground just behind the inn of Schwarenbach. While staying 

 on the Engstlen Alp, on June 8th, 1886, Anderegg, found 

 a nest containing four eggs, placed in a very thick dwarfed 



