ACCENTORS. 67 



THE ALPINE ACCENTOR, 



(Accentor alpinus?) 



PLATE V. FIGURE I. 



THE first of these scientific names comes from the Latin root, canto, 

 to sing, the meaning of the second is plain enough, of or belonging 

 to hills or mountains. The bird frequents the highest parts of the 

 Alpine districts of Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland, 

 during the summer, although in winter it seeks and finds a warmer 

 temperature in the sheltered valleys. It has also a place among the 

 native birds of Asia, being found in Japan. Although shy and re- 

 tired in the warm season, yet in times of cold and scarcity of food 

 it approaches the farm yards, villages, and country houses, and be- 

 comes like the Redbreast, although not so commonly, a sharer of 

 man's bounty. At such seasons it is not very particular as to its 

 diet, but when with enough and to spare, it can pick and choose, it 

 likes little else than insects and the smallest and softest of seeds. 



The male bird has a length of from six and a half to seven inches, 

 a strong, straight, and finely pointed bill, the upper part of which is 

 rusty black, fading off into yellowish white at the base, and this 

 latter, with an orange tinge, is the colour of the lower part, except at 

 the tip, which is brownish black. A light brownish grey is the 

 colour of the head, crown, and neck, sides, and back; lightish grey, 

 with a brown tinge, extends over the sides of the neck, while the 

 front or breast, is a dull yellowish white, with a small black spot on 

 each feather, which gives it a mottled appearance. The chin and 

 throat are dull white, and the feathers here have a crescent-shaped 

 spot on each, which is more or less distinct according to the season. 



This bird, which is sometimes called the "Alpine Warbler," or the 

 Collared Stare or Starling, is a rare species in England, five speci- 

 mens only are recorded as having been seen in the country. The 

 first of these was a female, taken in the gardens of King's College, 

 Cambridge, in November, 1822; another, supposed to be the male was 



