FIXCHES— CHOUGHS 429 



including feathers, contains five white eggs towards the end of May. The snow- 



tinch is a sociable bird, and takes its young close to the snow-boundary, mostly 



on the sunny side of the mountains, where it may be seen in parties of from twelve 



to fifteen, busily hunting on the ground. Hopping along the edge of the rocky 



ridges, these birds search diligently for their food, which consists of insects and 



seeds, especially pine-seeds. The twittering song, although alwaj : s welcome amid 



the solitudes, is not particularly rich or melodious. In length the snow-finch 



measures about 7 inches; the plumage is mainly white and black, though the 



head is grey and the back brown. The lesser redpoll (Linuria rufescens), the 



Alpine representative of the linnets, breeds in the Alps, and also in Great Britain, 



France, Belgium, Holland, and western Germany. It is a near relative of the 



mealy redpoll, and in winter appears in lower Austria. 



Among- the crow tribe, the chough (Pyrrhocorax qraculus) is 

 Chough. " . ° v ° . T 



a denizen of rocks and cliffs as well as of mountain forests. In 



autumn frequenting the sunny side of the mountains, this bird in winter visits the 



mountain valleys. Every night it returns to the heights, which it rarely leaves except 



on its wanderings. A few flocks of probably young birds migrate to warmer regions 



in October, whence they return in March. In May the nest is built in some cave or 



hole in a cliff, and consists of a shallow cup of rootlets and twigs, with a lining of wool 



and hair. The eggs, from three to six in number, are creamy white with lighter and 



darker spots. In distribution this bird is extremely local, but its range extends 



from Spain and Britain through central and southern Europe as far as China, 



and from the Canaries and the Atlas to Abyssinia. Everywhere it is restricted to 



certain spots, while from many others, apparently just as suitable, it is absent ; 



Palma, for instance, being the only one of the Canary Islands inhabited by the 



chough. In Europe choughs appear in great numbers in Spain, Portugal, and the 



Pyrenees, as well as in the Swiss Alps. A few inhabit certain lofty clift's in 



Carinthia and the Tyrol, and some a few localities along the rocky coasts of the 



British Isles, whence the species sometimes strays to East Friesland; and the 



Carpathians, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Urals also claim it as a resident. 



In length the chough measures about 15 inches. It is easily distinguished, by its 



long, curved coral-red beak, from the Alpine chough, in which the beak is short, 



straight, and yellow. The plumage of both species is jetty black, but the legs of 



the chough are red, while those of the Alpine species are yellow. The female 



chough is rather smaller than her mate. Young birds have the beak and legs dull 



orange till September, after which they acquire the permanent colour. 



The Alpine chough (P. alpinus) is a somewhat smaller bird 



Alpine Chough. . . * .. f. j , ., 



living in similar situations, and ranging more or less over the same 

 area. It is, however, absent from the Carpathians, although verj' common on the 

 Swiss Alps, to a height of over 8000 feet, where it spends its life among the same 

 rocks, which are whitened with the remains of its food. Never leaving the 

 mountains for good, although migrating in the cold season to warmer parts, 

 this chough is met with in the plains. In many respects it resembles the jackdaw, 

 being just as restless and brisk in its movements, and wandering about in flocks 

 of hundreds at a time. The Alpine chough breeds in colonies, building amid rocks 

 and ravines, not unfrequently even on high peaks and crags. The nest, which is 



