1 18 i\Ir. S. B. Wilson's Notes 



towers iu Switzerland, and also among high crags in the 

 Alps. I observed several pairs on the Gemmi, also at 

 Meiringeu, where I shot one on June 12th as it was flying 

 about some crags, in company with Crag Swallows and 

 Common Swifts. 



The note is very powerful and different from that of the 

 Common Swift, added to whicli the white underparts, 

 brownish upper plumage, and the enormous length of wing 

 render this species easily distinguishable. It arrives at the 

 end of April or beginning of May, and leaves between the 

 middle of September and the middle of October, according to 

 the season. Sometimes they have already left the cathedral 

 of Berne by the end of August. 



GvPAiiTUs BARBATUS. " Lammcrgeyr." 



This bird has now become veiy rare in Northern Switzer- 

 land, tliough several pairs still breed in the Grisons. The 

 only specimen I saw recently killed was one wbicb Herr 

 Stauffer of Lucerne was stuffing ; it had been lying for some 

 days in the snow before lie received it, and the difficulty in 

 preserving it must have been great, as the feathers of the 

 head and neck came out at the least touch. I observed fine 

 specimens in all the museums, particularly in Herr Stauffer's 

 collection ; but owing to the high prices given by these estab- 

 lishments this species has become so rare that in a few years 

 it will probably be no longer found in Switzerland. 



Aquila chrysaetus. '' Aigle royal/' " Steinadler.-" 

 I observed about a dozen specimens of this noble bird 

 during the two springs I passed in Switzerland. On the 

 Engstlen Alp, where marmots are very abundant, they form 

 the Eagle's principal food, a fact which I do not remember 

 to have seen mentioned by any author. On 26th June, 

 1886, we watched an interesting chase ; the sharp whistle 

 of a marmot v>as heard, and looking down Ave saw an Eagle 

 in fiTll pursuit, flyiug close to the ground, and the marmot 

 running at full speed, screaming loudly : it just gained its 

 hole in time. 



