Birds of the Pyrenees. 381 



Tengmalm^s Owl {Nyctala tengmalmi) undoubtedly occurs 

 in the upper fir-woods ; and there is a specimen of the Pygmy- 

 Owl {Glaucidium passerinum) in the Museum at Perpignan, 

 said to have been obtained in the Eastern Pyrenees. 



98. Strix flammea, Linn. 



The Barn-Owl is of general distribution. 



99. Gyps fulvus (Gmel.). 



The Griffon Vulture is common in the Western Pyrenees, 

 especially on the Spanish side. I believe that about half a 

 dozen pairs nest just within the French frontier, in the cliffs 

 of La Rhune on the side looking to Spain ; and there is a 

 larger colony in the Hucel-haya or Trois Couronnes, a very 

 conspicuous mountain on the Spanish side of the Bidassoa. 

 With the above exception I am not aware of any breeding-place 

 on the French side in the Western or Central Pyrenees ; in fact 

 the rocks do not appear suitable — with the exception, perhaps, 

 of those above Les Aldudes near the Val de Bastan, where the 

 frontier-ridge runs north and south instead of east and west. 

 I saw over seventy Griffons at once over that village ; and near 

 Mendive I watched these birds with a binocular on some 

 mountain-pastures from which we were separated by a deep 

 gorge. On alighting, the Griffons might be seen stalking 

 leisurely among the sheep, or perched upon a rock, taking a 

 great interest, for obvious reasons, in the ewes which were 

 lambing. On the Spanish side its breeding-places are nume- 

 rous. Lacroix says that the eggs are laid towards the end of 

 February ; but we found none by the 8th of March, even in 

 the mild climate of the Western Pyrenees. Philippe, who 

 seems to have experimented on every thing, says "■ on le 

 mange a I'etouffe, apres Tavoir fait mariner cinq a six jours, 

 pour lui faire perdre son odeur musquee.''^ 



100. VuLTUR MONACHUs, Linn. 



The Cinereous Vulture is certainly of rare occurrence in 

 the Western Pyrenees, but in the Central and Eastern dis- 

 tricts it sometimes comes over from the Spanish side, where 

 it is abundant. Philippe says that it nests in the rocks of 

 the Clot de Mountarioux, and Lacroix asserts that it does so 



SER. v. VOL. II. 2 F 



