38 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



capo-rosso, It. — Rothkopfiger Vurger, G. Very accurate figures of 

 the male and female, natural size, but they might have been more 

 spirited. Abundant on the continent, especially the warmer por- 

 tions, but only a straggler in Britain. In habits, observes Mr. 

 Gould, it resembles the Redbacked Shrike, but it differs from its 

 congeners in the close resemblance of the sexes, which are only dis- 

 tinguishable by the brighter hues of the male. Feeds on coleopterous 

 and other large insects, and also on young and weak birds. Builds 

 in the forked branch of a bush, and lays five or six whitish-green 

 eggs, irregularly blotched with grey. 



Spotted Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes — Cassenoix, Fr — 

 Ghiandaia nucifraga, It, — Nussrabe (Nut Raven !), G. Found al- 

 most throughout Europe, being migratory in the northern districts ; 

 a rare straggler with us. Its habits and food bear a strong resem- 

 blance to those of the Woodpeckers, and, like them, it ascends the 

 trunks of trees in search of insects. It also subsists on nuts and 

 berries. Builds in the holes of trees, enlarging the cavity if neces- 

 sary, and lays five or six yellowish-white eggs. The male is some- 

 what larger than the female, and, Mr. Gould thinks, of a slightly 

 brighter hue. The figure, natural size, is as good as we can desire. 



Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus — Grebe hupp6, Fr. — Colimbo 

 cristato, It. — Gehaubter Steissfuss, G. We have no hesitation in 

 pronouncing this decidedly the best of Mr. Gould's plates we have 

 hitherto criticized. The adult especially is perfect in every respect, 

 and is truly a model of ornithological painting. Inhabits Britain and 

 the temperate i-egions of Europe generally, and also parts of Asia 

 and Africa, frequenting lakes and rivers, and occasionally resorting 

 to the sea-coast. The nest is formed of a mass of aquatic herbage, 

 on the margin of the water, with the variations of which it rises or 

 falls. Lays three or four greenish-white eggs, stained with brown. 

 The young birds and the adults in winter plumage have been de- 

 scribed as the Tippet Grebe. Mr. Gould alludes to the circumstance 

 of feathers being frequently found in the gizzard of this bird. Audu- 

 bon speaks of a feathery substance occurring in the gizzard of an 

 American species, and sates that it consists of vegetable matter eaten 

 by the bird. Some time since we expressed an opinion that the mat- 

 ter found in the Crested Grebe might 'be accounted for in a similar 

 manner : but the examination of a quantity taken from the stomach 

 of that species, and sent to us by an Irish gentleman, convinced us 

 that they are really feathers from the breast of the bird. This being 

 the case, the circumstance is not easily accounted for. True, a few 



