146 Mr. S. B. AVilson's Notes 



shut up in a room, feeding it on grain and rice, and it became 

 so tame that it would sit on the desk where he was writing ; 

 he kept it through the winter, and let it go the following- 

 spring. At the Furka the owner told me that several years 

 ago he used to amuse himself with watching a pair of Snow 

 Finches playing with a St. Bernard, They would never let 

 the dog eat in peace, but would fly down, feigning to strike 

 at him, until the dog got furious, and barked and snapped at 

 the birds, which only seemed to enjoy the fun all the more. 



I do not think there is a prettier sight than a flock of 

 Snow Finches on the wing; with the sun shining on them, 

 the black and white of their plumage shows so beautifully, 

 and when they are flying up slowly against the wind they 

 look just like great black-and-white butterflies. 



Pyrrhocorax alpinus. " Choquard,'^ " Steinkrahe." 

 I obtained specimens on the Gemmi ; but was not success- 

 ful in finding the nest, although I saw a pair of these birds 

 in the breeding-season repeatedly entering the same cleft in 

 the rock, halfway up the Pass, where, no doubt they had 

 their nest. Their flight is powerful, and as they rise high 

 into the air in circles, it reminds one of that of a Falcon ; 

 their harsh cry is heard at a great distance, as we observed on 

 the Gemmi, when, after firing a shot, any Choughs which 

 happened to be concealed in clefts in the rock, would dash 

 out, screaming loudly, and fly away far down beneath us. 

 They appear to feed in flocks of not more than forty, at least 

 we never saw more in a flock, and very often not more than 

 twelve. In harvest time, according to my chasseur, they 

 descend to the fields and feed on grasshoppers. They also 

 nest in large colonies in several places in Switzerland, of one 

 of which we were told the whereabouts, but unfortunately 

 had not time to visit it. 



Cyi'selus melba. ''Martinet k ventre blanc,'^ ^'Alpen- 

 segler.'^ 



On July 3rd we paid a visit to the cathedral at Berne, 

 where the Alpine Swift breeds regularly in large numbers. 

 On approaching the building we saw great numbers of them 



