Ornitholoyy of the Var &{C. 367- 



arboreu, and Genista, a congenial tliiclcet is made for the 

 Dartford Warbler, which worms its black body about amongst 

 them, while the Magpie^s chatter is seldom absent. 



Buzzards breed on the tops of these Esterel Mountains, 



which at their highest reach 2000 feet, and perhaps a few 



Neophron Vultures still nest there occasionally. In 1900 a 



forest fire had recently taken place, and such conflagrations 



must be rather disastrous to bird-life, as they are sometimes 



very extensive. The fir-clad slopes then become a mass of 



charred and blackened stems, vhich are most unsightly, but 



perhaps they never have very many birds on them. The slopes 



are succeeded by more level ground, with small vineyards; and 



here we begin to meet with the Serin Finch — so essentially 



characteristic of the coimtry that it has earned the name of 



"Serin de Provence,^' — the Black-headed Warbler, and the 



large Fruit Dormouse, while where umbrageous trees of 



large size grow the Oriole may perchance be detected, like 



an orange in the foliage, yet more skilful in concealing its 



bright plumage than might be expected. It was not my 



luck to fall in with the brilliant Bee-eater. By the sides of 



streams the oleander grows in some profusion ; tortoises are 



to be seen, as are the Green Sandpiper and the Grey Wagtail. 



The Var is too far west for the orange-tree, which fruits 



freely in the Alpes Maritimes, and in many districts the 



place of the picturesque grey olives is taken by groves of 



cork-trees, a habitation to which the Scops Owl and the Pied 



Flycatcher are rather partial. 



The villa gardens run for the most part along the coast, 

 with plenty of cactuses and mimosa-trees for the Willow and 

 Icterine Warblers, while the English Blackcap is at home in 

 the shady plane-tree, which is such a feature in French 

 suburbs. On the fallow land the Crested Lark and its con- 

 geners are to be sought, with Pipits of various sorts, and 

 perchance the Meadow-Bunting may be viewed balancing on 

 a spray, while the Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and Goldfinch are 

 universally found, the latter brilliant as a butterfly under 

 the southern sun, and not persecuted by bird-catchers as it 

 Avould be in England. This description is taken about the first 



