22 THE BIRDS OF DEVONSHIRE. 



seem to have turned ii}) until 1858, wlien Mr. 

 Gatcombe observed a pair of Alpine Accentors on 

 the cliffs near Plymouth, on December 20tli. They 

 were very tame and allowed a near approach, but 

 when he returned with a gun (less than an hour 

 afterwards), they were not to be seen, nor did he 

 meet with them again until January lOtli, 1859 ; 

 when after a search of three weeks, he shot both 

 birds. Their actions, when hopping on the grass on 

 the top of tlie cliff, were very like those of the Hedge 

 Sparrow, but on being disturbed they immediately 

 flew to the rocks below. Their note resembled the 

 syllables " tree, tree, tree ; " and, as he wrote to 

 Professor Newton, " the reddish mark on their sides 

 appeared nearly as conspicuous as that of the Red- 

 wing.' ' The stomach of one of these birds contained 

 gravel, line sand and seeds, but no insects, (ZooL 

 1859. p. 6877). 



Fiiinilij CixcLU)^E. 

 DIPPER. -C/y?r//^s aijuallni^, (Beclist). 



A COMMON resident on our moorland streams, 

 building very early in the year, on the face of rocks, 

 in overhanging banks and under bridges. Its sweet 

 song may be heard nearly all the year through. 

 Mr. Mitchell says that in severe weather many of 

 the Dartmoor birds descend to lower grounds, and 

 it was on the coast at Torquay that the late 

 Mr. Stevenson, of Norwich, first saw the Dipper in 

 a wild state: watching it for days, " flitting across 



