SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 487 
middle of April ; and frequents willows, and reeds of marshy districts. 
Food: insects and their larve. Nidification, and winter-retreat,— 
probably Africa,—yet unknown. Fig. an adult. 
Prate XVIII. Noddy Tern,—Sterna stolida,—le Mouette brun, 
ou le Fou, Fr. Of this bird, common in America, two specimens, 
the first observed in Europe, were killed, in 1830, off the Irish coast, 
near Wexford. Food: small fishes taken in skimming along the 
water's surface. Nest: of twigs and dried grass, built in bushes and 
low trees. Eggs: 3, reddish-yellow; patched, and spotted, with 
dull-red and purple ; said to be deposited on shelves of rocks in Ba- 
hama Islands. Fig. an adult. 
PiaTeE XIX. Bifasciated Lark,—Certhilauda—Alauda—bifas- 
ciata,—l Alouette bifasci¢e, Fr. Described by Temminck, in 3rd 
Part of his Manuel, as an occasional yisitant of eastern and southern 
Europe. Common on banks of the Nile, and in Abyssinia. Differs 
from Alauda genus in curved and elongated figure of the bill, and 
comparative shortness of toes and nails. Food, and Nidification, un- 
known. fig. an adult Male. 
PiatTe XX. Common Gull,—Zarus canus,—la Mouette a pieds 
bleus, F7.,—Gabbiano mezza mosca, G. minore, J¢.,—die kleine 
graue oder Sturm-Mewe, G.,—Gryse Meeuw, D. Common on the 
British coasts ; resident there ; breeding on rocky headlands, islands, 
and shores of lakes. Sometimes wanders inland, and, rook-like, 
follows the plough, in small flocks, searching for worms and insects. 
Nest: formed of sea-weed and grasses. Eggs: 2—3, yellowish- 
white, blotched with brown and grey. Fig. an adult, and young 
bird. 
TWENTY-SECOND PART. 
Prate I. Imperial Eagle,—Agquila imperialis,—l Aigle impérial, 
Fr.,—der Kénigsadler, G'. A noble bird, native of Eastern Europe; 
more limited in range, than its congener, A. chrysaétos, which it 
closely resembles in figure and habits: but at once distinguished, in 
adult age, by the large white marks situated on the scapularies. Re- 
sides, principally, in extensive mountainous forests ; feeds on Mam- 
mifera and large birds ; and forms its mest on mountain-trees or high 
rocks, Eggs: 2—3, dull-white. Temminck describes “the tra- 
chea as composed of solid and almost contiguous rings, and forming 
an annular ossification at the lower larynx ; and the bronchi as hay- 
ing broad rings, which gradually lessen in diameter as they approach 
the lungs.” Fig. an adult, and young bird. 
