2G Mr. Henry Seebohm 07i the 



Sandpiper [Totamis stagnatilis) frequent the shores of the 

 lakes in the company of numerous White Wagtails {Motacilla 

 alba). On the mountain-streams the Grey Wagtail {Motacilla 

 sulphurea) is common, and the Mediterranean form of the 

 Water-Ouzel {Cinclus aquaticus albicollis) ascends them up 

 to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. I saw 

 Ring-Ouzels {Merula torquata) among some alders behind 

 the hotel, now and then a pair of Kestrels [Falco tinnunculus) 

 were to be seen hovering over the valley, and once I watched 

 for some time an Icterine Warbler (Hypolais hypolais) in a 

 larch tree just below the head of the pass. The Crested 

 Tit [Parus cristatus) was not quite so common as its con- 

 geners^ and, curiously enough, I saw no trace of the ubiquitous 

 Sparrow. Chaffinches (Fringilla calebs) were remarkably 

 abundant, and frequently uttered a note which I have never 

 heard in this country : it might be represented by the letters 

 rrt. The Carrion-Crow [Corvus corone), when it emigrated 

 from East Siberia, evidently ascended the Danube and the 

 Inn and reached North Italy, thus isolating the Hooded 

 Crows of Southern Italy and Greece from the main colony 

 in East Europe and West Siberia. We saw the former 

 every day, but we did not meet with either the Rook, the 

 Magpie, or the Hooded Crow. On the other hand, a small 

 flock of Choughs {Pyrrhocorax graculus) frequented the shores 

 of the lake, and parties of Alpine Choughs [Pyrrhocorax 

 alpinus) sometimes came suddenly upon us as we were 

 gathering alpine flowers in the mountain-clefts, to their 

 great surprise and evident consternation. Ravens [Corvus 

 cor ax) were occasionally seen, but no Jackdaws. 



I did not succeed in finding either the Ptarmigan or the 

 Snow-Finch, but was extremely delighted to make the ac- 

 quaintance of the Alpine Accentor {Accentor alpinus). This 

 bird was by no means common, and was extremely local; but 

 I met with it on three occasions, and was able to salve several 

 knotty points in its habits which have always been a puzzle 

 to me. I am not aware that any British ornithologist has 

 described its habits from personal observation, and as it was 

 one of tlic few European birds which was not personally 



