568 ORNITHOLOGICAL SKETCHES 



stocked with trout and much frequented by Dippers ; while 

 woods of huge lofty oaks, rich green marshy meadows, and 

 extensive flats covered with alders and birches give it a 

 pleasant appearance. 



In detailing my unfortunately very scanty bird-notes, I 

 will begin with the virgin forests. These I merely skirted, 

 and never went to their upper parts, the only raptorial bird 

 that I observed being a very large Eagle-Owl (Bubo maximus) , 

 for to my great astonishment I did not see a single Ural 

 Owl. The Nutcracker, however, was tolerably abundant, 

 even as low down as the edge of the meadows. There were 

 not many Jays and only a few Hazel-Grouse ; but I naturally 

 saw but few of the latter,/ as this year I did not visit the 

 localities of these primeval woods where both this bird and the 

 Capercaillie are so numerous. Of the small fry I only noticed 

 a pair of Three-toed Woodpeckers (Ptcoides tridactylus) and 

 a good many Common Wrens, Goldcrests, Firecrests, and 

 plenty of the ordinary species of Tits. 



This about finishes my forest-notes, and although I saw 

 but little the woods seemed this year to be full of life in 

 comparison with the utter stillness which prevailed when I 

 rambled through them in the middle of last November, for 

 then there was quite a striking dearth of birds both in the 

 valleys arid the outlying hills, and this could not be said on 

 the present occasion. 



In November I did not see one of the larger birds of prey, 

 but I now observed, both in the Gorgeny valley and the 

 deciduous woods of the lower hills, a good many Cinereous 

 Vultures, two Sea-Eagles (Haliaetus albicilla), some " Stein," 

 Larger and Lesser Spotted Eagles, and a great many Short- 

 toed Eagles, Common Buzzards, Goshawks (Astur palum- 

 barius), Sparrow-Hawks (A. nisus). Kestrels, Merlins (Falco 

 cesalon), and Peregrines (F. peregrinus), as well as several 



