31 



rocky coast of Devon and Cornwall, while perhaps a few pairs still exist 

 in Dorset. On Lundy it is now scarce, though formerly plentiful, but is 

 not found on the Scillies. Along the Welsh coast scattered pairs nest in 

 the sea cliffs, or occasionally in a quarry close to the sea. It still survives 

 in the Isle of Man, but in nothing like the numbers of former years. At 

 the present time the chief strongholds of this species are the west coast 

 of Ireland and some of the Scottish Islands. Ussher describes it as breeding 

 in Antrim, Donegal, Down (rare), Leitrim (?), Sligo (rare). Mayo, Galway, 

 Clare, Kerry, Cork and Waterford, usually on the coast and adjacent islands, 

 but sometimes also on mountain ranges inland. In Scotland it is local, 

 but in certain localities common, on Islay, Jura, Gigha and other islands, 

 of the Inner Hebrides as far as Skye. Possibly a few pairs may still nest 

 on the western mainland, but on the Outer Hebrides it is unknown. 



In France the Chough l)reeds locally on the coast of Brittany, and The Con- 

 is not uncommon on Sark. Rey found a colony of 40 to 50 pairs nesting tinent 

 in the face of a precipice in Portugal, and it is plentiful locally in the 

 Pyrenees, though less numerous than P. graadiis (L.), and is also found 

 in Navarre, in the Cantabrian Mountains and in considerable numbers in 

 the Sierras of the south (Sierra Nevada, S. de Ubrique, etc.). In Corsica 

 and Sardinia its haunts are the mountain ranges, but in Sicily it breeds in 

 the sea cliffs: it is found also in the Basses- Alpes, and in pairs or small 

 colonies in the Alps of Ticino, Valais, Vaud, Berne, Uri, Glarus, Appenzell, 

 Grisons and the Engadine (Fatio), and on the Italian side in Piedmont and 

 Lombardy as well as in the Apennines. Further north it has occured 

 rarely in the Vosges, and in the mountain ranges of Bavaria, as well as 

 in Styria, Carinthia, and the Tyrol. Records from the Bukowina require 

 confirmation. In the Balkan peninsula it appears to be confined to the 

 southern part (Pindus range, Parnassus, etc.), but is a resident on Crete 

 (Mt. Ida) though absent from Cyprus. EastAvard it has been recorded from 

 the Caucasus in large colonies, and the southern Urals. [In the Canaries 

 it is confined to Palma, and has not been recorded from Palestine.] 



In some parts of its range, such as the British Isles, Portugal, Sicily, Ne&L 

 etc., the nest is usually placed in a cave or crevice of cliff along the sea 

 coast, or else in a quarry Avithin sight of the sea. In other districts, such 

 as Sardinia, Greece and the great mountain ranges of Europe, it is found 

 in gorges and lofty ranges of cliff, often at a considerable altitude and far 

 inland. Fatio says that in Switzerland church towers and Avails of old 

 castles are also utilized for nesting purposes. On the Avest coast of Ire- 

 land a favourite spot is a crevice in the roof of a sea cave, often quite 

 inaccessible. The nest is usually large and somewhat like that of the 

 Jackdaw in construction. The foundation consists of sticks, furze stems and 

 heather stalks, sometimes only Avithered plants, roots and a little grass or 



