of the Delta of the Rhone. 483 



Aries expressed great surprise on our telling them that 

 we had found this bird in the Delta^ and said they were 

 not aware of its presence there. In this connection it may 

 be interesting- to quote Jaubert and Barthelemy-Lapom- 

 meraye (p. 422;. These authors say, " We scarcely know 

 it in Provence, Those which breed on the banks of the 

 Rhone and in the valley of the Durance become scarcer 

 there each year." 



COTURNIX COMMUNIS. 



Our friend M. Rosseau, of Aries, informed us that great 

 numbers of Quail arrive on the Mediterranean shores of the 

 Camargue in the spring, and that the birds are so exhausted 

 on their advent that they may be killed with a stick. This 

 information leads one to conclude that these birds cross 

 the Mediterranean in the longitude of the Rhone, otherwise 

 they would hardly arrive iu such an exhausted condition. 

 We saw very few Quail during our visit. 



^Crex pratensis. 



Quite a number of Land-Rails were shot in the Delta on 

 the 19th of September, and the bird seemed to be abundant 

 about that date ; it is of double passage only. 



CEdicnemus scolopax. 



The Stone-Curlew has been already mentioned as one of 

 the species which we did not observe, though it was extremely 

 common during the breeding-season. This little experience 

 rather tends to bear out the statements of Jaubert and 

 Barthelemy-Lapommeraye (p. 441), that it is to be found in 

 the Camargue and the Crau ifi summer. 



The Avocet {Recurvirostra avocetta) was still present in 

 its haunts in the Delta on the 23rd of September. 



^Gallinago major. 



On September 19th a Great Snipe was seen at close 

 quarters among some rough ground at Giraud, in the south- 

 east of the Delta. Jaubert and Barthelemy-Lapommeraye 

 say (p. 481) that this species is rather rare on passage in 

 Provence. 



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