44 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



seen him, he was suddenly surprised by two fishermen, and 

 he dropped the poor bird, which fell among the vines, and 

 " Mr. Accipiter " took refuge in some high trees close by. Twice 

 I saw him attempt to recover his dinner, but both times 

 being frustrated by the fishermen, he at last very reluctantly 

 gave it up. 



Buzzard, Buteo vulgaris. — Very common. I have watched a 

 pair of these birds soaring to a great height over the vines and 

 pastures, and then suddenly descending. I only once saw this 

 bird seize its prey, which he did much like an Owl, suddenly 

 drojiping on the grass, and after a time rising and fljing off with 

 a rat, or something about that size, in its claws. At Felsinegg, 

 on the Zuger Berg, 3250 feet above sea-level, there were four 

 pairs within a comparatively small radius. They were very fond 

 of sitting on the poles placed for stacking the fern and bracken 

 in the open uncultivated places, and were very tame, often 

 allowing me to come within fifty yards of them, and then only 

 slowly flying to the next pole or neighbouring pine tree. It 

 appeared to me that there were two species, one rather larger 

 and lighter in colour than the other — perhaps Buteo lagopus. 



Stork, Ciconia alba. — Generally takes its departure from 

 Switzerland before the arrival of the autumn tourists, but up to 

 the 12th or 15th of August a pair or two, with their young, 

 may be found, if looked after ; most of them, however, have 

 gone to warmer climes. They are very tame, as, being un- 

 molested, they fear not man. About three or four miles out of 

 Basle, on the road to Zurich, there is a Stork's nest on a high 

 chimney at a farmhouse, and I noticed the jh re and mere Stork 

 with their family, walking stately about the marshy fields by 

 the Ehine, in close proximity to the men mowing the grass, 

 apparently quite accustomed to their ^jresence. There used to 

 be a nest in one of the towers or pinnacles of Basle Cathedral, 

 but the necessary repairs, which continued for some time, have 

 driven them awaj' . "Whilst sitting on the terrace of the cathedral, 

 I saw a Stork fly across the river, and then begin gyrating 

 upwards and upwards in ever-increasing circles till it became 

 but a speck and almost invisible. I noticed two of these birds 

 near Eegensberg as late as the 12th August ; they settled down 

 quite close to some men in the fields, and appeared to be quite 

 familiar with them. The Swiss, I suppose, believe in the old 



