RARER BRITISH BIRDS. 



ALPINE ACCENTOR. 



Accentor Alpinus. BECHSTEIN. 



ONLY one species of the genus Accentor, the common Hedge- 

 Sparrow, had been enumerated in the British Fauna, before the 

 discovery of the bird before us ; we cannot, however, consider 

 the Alpine Accentor in any other light than that of a straggler, 

 or a very rare occasional visitant. It is a common bird on 

 the Alps, in the neighbourhood of Mont Saint Bernard, and, 

 indeed, in both France and Germany. Number i. page 134, 

 of the "Zoological Journal" records, that a female specimen 

 was shot in the garden of King's College, Cambridge. It is now 

 in the beautifully preserved collection of Dr. Thackeray. The 

 habit of this bird is unlike that of our common, but amusing 

 little bird, the Hedge-Sparrow ; perching, generally, either on 

 a stone, or only on the ground, scarcely ever on trees. 



The Alpine Accentor is about seven inches in length. The 

 upper parts of the head and neck are cinereous grey ; back also 



