II To the Engstlen Alp once more 21 



traveller would not care to miss. Even from the 

 train window, as we cross those vast expanses of 

 well -tilled land in Central France, something may- 

 be seen ere nightfall ; the Hen Harrier, for example, 

 a fine bird now almost extinct in England, may be 

 quartering the fields for his evening meal. Early 

 in the morning, as the train winds slowly up the 

 passes of the Jura on its way to Bern, you may 

 form some idea of the common bird -population of 

 the district ; Whinchats are in the hay-fields. Black 

 Eedstarts on the chalets, and Dippers and Gray 

 Wagtails by the swift streams we cross. At Biel, 

 where we descend to the plain of Central Switzerland, 

 it would be worth while to alight and spend a day 

 or two of search by lake and river ; but if time 

 be precious, and if we would see what the true 

 Alps have to show us, it is better to go on, spending 

 only a few hours at Bern — a delay that will be well 

 repaid. 



Bern is generally known as a city of bears — of 

 bears in stone, bears in wood, and live bears in a 

 pit. But there are birds in Bern as well as bears. 

 The town might well have Swifts on its coat of 

 arms ; these birds rejoice in its bright, invigorating 

 air. The streets and squares resound with their 

 shrill voices, and they nest under the eaves of the 

 hotel I frequent. These are of the common species ; 

 but if you stand anywhere near the cathedral and 



