384 Mr. J. H. Gurney on the 



by eating the earthworms^ which are here as large as little 

 snakes. The Magpie is the characteristic bird of France^ and 

 the only one which the average Englishman remarks as he 

 speeds through the country. 



Jay. Garrulus glandarius. 



The crafty " Geai^' — named^ as it seems, after its own gay 

 colours — is just as sly in France as it is in England ; but it 

 is easy to trap them, I believe, and a Jay pegged down with its 

 feet in the air will hold any other bird that comes within its 

 reach, according to Pellicot. Risso notes that G. glandarius 

 sometimes appears in considerable bands, and in another place 

 he says : " G. glandarius and Sturnus vulgaris have been 

 sometimes seen during whole days passing at intervals in 

 flocks " (H. N. de Nice et des Alpes Marit.). 



Nutcracker. Nncifraga caryocatactes. 



Included in Jaubert^s list, but no occurrences specified, 

 a fact which in several other instances detracts much from 

 the value o£ his catalogue. Specimens were probably ob- 

 tained in 1844, when many visited the South of France. 

 In the same year one was shot in Norfolk and one in Sussex, 

 showing the wide extent of the movement. 



Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone. 



" La Corneille noire " is stated to be migratory, but, 

 according to Polydore Eoux, does not cross the sea, by the 

 edge of which was the only place where we saw it. 



Hooded Crow. Corvus comix. 



I have had C. comix from Nice, but it is said to be much 

 less common than C. corone, while C. frugilegus is only 

 found inland. '^ Chavo " or " Graio '^ is a provincial name 

 for all of them (Pellicot), but not for the Raven. I have 

 seen C, comix in Italy as late as June 23rd. 



Skylark. Alauda arvensis. 



Common up to the end of March ; indeed there were quite 

 150 in Grasse market one day during that month. On 

 May 10th, long after the bulk of them had departed north, 

 one on the golf ground was sitting on a nest which I should 



