13 



sees an occasional raven and innumerable choughs, both the 

 Alpine and the red-legged, the former predominating. 



Game is very, very scarce. Neither rabbits, hares, marmots, 

 pheasants, or grouse of any kind is one likely to come across. A 

 ptarmigan or so at the edge of an old drift is possible, and by 

 good luck and keeping very still an occasional French partridge 

 may be seen in some of the dryer and stonier gorges. Chamois 

 {izard here) are common on the French side but do not penetrate 

 more than a mile or two into Spain, nor does the Spanish ibex (a 

 rare animal now) ever cross into France as it did a century since. 



Among the upper ranges just under the snow line one sees 

 our common wheatear and the Water Pipit {A. Spipoletta) and 

 on outcrops of rock among the snow or upon isolated peaks 

 from 8,000 to 10,000ft. one is sure to see the Alpine Accentor 

 and the Snow Finch, though not so commonly as in Switzer- 

 land. 



The little brown Crag Swallows and the brilliantly coloured 

 Wall Creeper haunt the quiet upper ends of secluded glens, and 

 wherever there is water one sees the Dippers which are said 

 to be the pale-backed variety Albicollis. 



Large birds of prey are not uncommon ; the Griffon vulture 

 breeds I believe on both sides of the frontier. The Egyptian 

 vulture is quite common iu Northern Spain and strays across the 

 chain. Its pointed white tail and strongly contrasted plumage 

 distinguish it on the wing. The Lammergeyer of the Alps, 

 here called Gypaete, is a noticeable bird with racquet-shaped 

 tail and immensely long narrow pinions. Easily distinguished 

 from the foregoing is the Golden Eagle which has a tawny head 

 and nape,and the Imperial Eagle which when adult is liver-coloared 

 splashed irregularly with white. 



This summary by no means exhausts the list of birds that 

 one may reasonably expect to see among the higher ranges. 



The flora of these ranges is rich and striking, jonquils 

 daffodils, the large yellow and the pure white, several orchisis, 

 primulee, and campanulas will be found. The little blue hyacinth 

 {Amethystina) and the large and handsome Pyrenean columbine 

 are characteristic plants. So is the Bamondia, a plant without 

 any near cousins in Europe but very closely allied to the St. Paulia 

 of South Africa. About forty plants have been named pyrenaica, 

 and the region is rich botanically. The little black and yellow 

 salamander is common and small snakes and lizards abound. 



