316 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 
minck, clear greenish colour. ‘There are, in our opinion, few more 
fair and interesting birds than the “ booming Bittern.” 
Piate XVI. A bold, massive, and spirited representation of the 
Grey-Lag Wild Goose,—Anser ferus vel palustris,—olim Anas an- 
ser (ferus ),—l’Oie cendrée ou premiére, F’r.,—Oca paglietane, Zt., 
—Wilde gemeine oder graue Gans, G.,—the undoubted original of 
our common domestic species. Formerly a permanent inhabitant of 
this island, and breeding, in large numbers, in the fenny districts, this 
valuable bird has been driven from its haunts by the progress of cul-- 
tivation ; and now rarely occurs, even as a winter-visitaut, among us 
The place which it once occupied, appears to have been filled up by 
another species, Anser segetum. The extensive marshy districts of 
the more temperate regions of Furope constitute its principal habita- 
tion. The nest, constructed of vegetable materials, and placed among 
rushes, contains from six to twelve eggs, of a sullied-white colour. 
Pirate XVII. A naturally drawn and exquisitely coloured figure 
of the Thrush Nightingale,—Philomela turdoides,—la Bec-fin Phi- 
loméle, F'.,—Grosse Grasmiicke, der Sprosser, G. This species,— 
Sylvia Philomela, Luscinia, et Motacilla Lusc. major, of preceding 
ornithologists,—has been very ably described by Mr. Blythe; and is 
said to’connect the Philomela with certain species of the Turdus ge- 
nus. It is distinguished from the common Nightingale by the greater 
volume of the head, thickness of the beak, and darker and deeper co- 
louring of the plumage. It is, altogether, a larger bird ; surpassing 
in loudness, but inferior in delicacy and variety, of song. It is a na- 
tive of various parts of Germany; more abundant than the common 
species, in Hungary, Austria, and Poland: rarely visits France; un- 
known in Holland and the British islands. Its food consists of worms, 
insects, and berries. The nest, built in small thickets, or low and 
damp situations, contains brown-olive eggs stained with deep-brown, 
and larger than those of our British Nightingale. 
Pirate XVIII. Two exquisite figures of the Dunlin or Purre,— 
Tringa variabilis,—le Bécasseau brunette ou variable, F’r.,—der 
Alpen oder veranderliche Strandlaufer. G.,—representing two adult 
birds in the summer- and winter-plumage. From the striking varia- 
tions of plumage exhibited by this bird, according to age and season, 
it has been described, by divers systematic writers, as belonging to 
several different genera and species. An inexperienced observer 
this point: in the Numbers of his admirable British Oology, which we pos- 
sess, the egg of the Bittern has not been figured. 
