Sydney Porter—Some Corsican Birds



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trees and back again. I saw them often in the company of Green¬

finches ; their song was heard from an olive- or orange-tree, and it was

something like that of the Goldfinch. Another bird that was noticed

near Ajaccio was the Crossbill, but of the species I am not sure. I

dare say it was the common kind. These birds we saw in the fir- and

pine-trees, and they first attracted our attention by their incessant

chatter which was kept up all the while they were feeding. Several

pine cones that seemed to be torn to pieces were found under the trees.

This was no doubt the work of the Crossbills.


Several Marsh Buntings were seen, or at least I think that they were.

These birds are somewhat like the Reed Bunting, but larger and darker

in colour. A very common bird just outside the towns was the

Ortolan Bunting. One saw little parties of about three to six searching

for food on the roads. They seemed very tame, and would allow

approach within about ten yards of them. There were many other

kinds of Buntings, but I was quite unable to distinguish their species.

There were also Pipits which haunted the seashore, but the Pipit family

are usually dark and with very little difference between the species,

so they are hard to identify at a distance. Skylarks were common,

too. Thrushes and Blackbirds were far from being numerous, their

scarcity being due to the fact that they were in demand for the “ pet ”.

I noticed several Thrushes on the rocks by the sea at Ajaccio. They

were about the size of a Blackbird and of a dark-brown colour, with

the chin, throat, and breast rufous. They moved about in the same

manner as a Dipper, jerking the tail and flirting the wings. What

species they were I do not know ; perhaps some other member of

the Society can enlighten me.


The most charming bird to my mind was the sweet little Sardinian

Warbler. He seemed everywhere—away in the mountains, by the sea¬

shore, and even in the hotel gardens. He is somewhat after the same

style as the Dartford Warbler, only stouter in build. The head is

jet black and the whole of the underparts pure white ; the upper parts

are delicate grey, the long tail is dark grey with the outer feathers

white, the iris is bright yellow, which gives the bird a rather unique

appearance. He is a restless and lively little bird, and hops continually

through the low bushes of rosemary and cistus that cover the un-



