An Ornithological Letter from Mentone. 159 



are being constantly tended, the safe nesting of birds where they 

 abound is nearly frustrated ; there are, however, fir woods in 

 the western bay, and here and there a few copses of other trees 

 are found, in which even the Blackbird might find a thicket to 

 his fancy. Both Mentone and its neighbourhood are destitute 

 of lagoons, of pools, of marshes, of rivers ; the torrents that now 

 and then sweep down the mountain-sides are too soon gone to 

 supply the deficiency. There is no ebb in the sea here, no sand, 

 no long bare reaches of wild ground — bare through the influence 

 of the sea ; the sea-birds, therefore, obtain their living entirely 

 from the sea itself, as there is no soft sand or mud where they 

 might find worms or mollusks. 



On Oct. 21st I found myself established at Mentone, with 

 leisure to ramble, and having a great wish to ascertain the 

 names of some of the birds which lured me on by their voices 

 among the olives. After a morning spent among the trees, and 

 an afternoon among the rocks, the following results were ob- 

 tained. Morning: — Gold-crest and Fire-crest Wrens {Reguli 

 cristatus and ignicapillus) , which will stay with us all the winter ; 

 the Wood-Wren [Phyllopneuste sylvicola), about whose move- 

 ments I am still in doubt; the Black-cap, male and female 

 [Sylvia atricapilla) , which does not stay the winter. Afternoon: 

 — the Blue Rock-Thrush [Petrocincla cyanea), staying all the 

 year at Mentone, as do the two following — the Black Redstart 

 {Ruticilla tithys) and the Rock-Martin [Hirundo rupestris). 

 With regard to the two last-named birds, I cannot help thinking 

 it worth remarking that they, though generally accounted true 

 migrators, should be content to forego their natural propen- 

 sities, and thus establish themselves permanently as residents of 

 Mentone. The Black Redstart is only an occasional visitor to 

 England ; the Rock-Martin has never been found in our island : 

 yet these birds, or rather these individual examples of these 

 species, are not so sensitive to the approach of winter as the 

 common Redstart [Ruticilla phcenicura), the Swallow, Swift, 

 and many others, which are, notwithstanding, constant spring- 

 visitors to Great Britain. Hirundo rupestris is the only member 

 of the Swallow tribe that winters at Mentone; and I may count 

 myself fortunate that I have had the opportunity of observing 



