observed in Switzerland. 183 



Pernis apivorus (Linu.). 



Owing to absence in England during the greater part of 

 June, I did not see the Honey Buzzard on Chaumont till the 

 beginning of July. There were two pairs, and their nests 

 were, I believe, about three miles apart ; but my search was 

 vain, for in those dense woods the birds were soon lost to 

 view ; moreover, the nest is usually, I am told, on a thick 

 spruce-fir. A female often flew close past the hotel, some- 

 times just clearing the gable, and once the adult male was 

 recognized by his grey head, but in a moment they were over 

 the ridge, where the eye could not follow them. In August 

 the young were on the wing, attended by their parents ; the 

 latter answering immediately and sweeping over me whenever 

 my imitation of the cry of the young was accurate; their 

 tvhee or kee is very shrill and less " mewing " than the call 

 of the Common Buzzard. We frequently came upon the 

 remains of the nests of wasps and wild bees, torn up. 



Falco peregrinus, Tunstall. 



Observed near Lausanne in March ; well known and 

 widely distributed in the lower valleys of the mountains, but 

 said to be rare and unknown as a breeding species in the 

 Orisons and Tessin. 



Falco subbuteo, Linn. 



I saw two young birds taking short flights from the 

 tops of some spruces on Chaumont, early in August. In 

 Switzerland the Hobby appears to be remarkably bold and 

 powerful, inasmuch as, according to the authors of the Cata- 

 logue^ it captures Pigeons and Partridges ! 



The Red-footed Falcon {F. vespertinus) is an irregular 

 visitant. 



Falco ^salon, Tunstall. 



A Merlin swept past me on Mont Vilan, in the Grisons, on 

 September I5th ; it is considered a rare species in Switzer- 

 land. 



Falco tinnunculus, Linn. 



The Kestrel is undoubtedly common, but it did not come 

 under my notice so often as the Sparrow-Hawk. 



