163 Mr. H. Saunders on Birds 



few dead birds in the Vevey market up to the end of October, 

 together with Redwings ; the Fieldfare is, however, the 

 Grive of the dealers. 



TuRDUs PILARIS, Linn. 



I saw only one Fieldfare near Lausanne until a slight thaw 

 on February 27'th, 1890, when numbers made their appear- 

 ance on the fields, in bright clean plumage. In autumn they 

 repassed, and up to the middle of February 1891 I saw a few 

 on the mountains. 



TuRDUS MERULA, LiuU. 



The Blackbird is resident and was seen throughout the 

 winter in the gardens of Lausanne and Vevey ; it is common 

 enough at Neuch^tel, but was never observed as high as 

 the ridge of Chaumont. 



TuRDUS TORQUATUS, LiuU. 



The Ring-Ouzel is a migrant. It was fairly plentiful in 

 the Jura, where some nests were still being built on May 

 23rd, when a few already contained young birds, and I saw 

 a brood on the wing by June 2nd. The nest is placed on the 

 branch of a spruce — generally one which is thickly hung with 

 moss and lichen — and near the stem ; seldom as low down as 

 15 feet, while often 40 feet or more from the ground — very 

 different from the lowly positions affected by this species in 

 the British Islands. The adult male attracts attention by 

 sitting on the top of a tall fir and uttering vigorously his 

 scolding tett, tett, tett. The bill in this mountain race is de- 

 cidedly yellower than in average British examples, but much 

 paler than the orange colour of the Blackbird. In autumn 

 the Ring-Ouzel may be seen on the rowan-trees, and among 

 the vineyards by the lakes, until the end of October. 



Saxicola osNANTHE (Linn.). 



The Wheatear is widely distributed in Switzerland from 

 spring to autumn, and Mr. Scott Wilson has recorded the 

 great elevation (8150 ft.) at which it breeds ; but it is pro- 

 bably local in the Jura, where I seldom saw it. 



Pratincola rubetra (Linn.). 



The Whinchat is fairly commno from spring to autumn 



