BIRDS OBSERVED DURING A CYCLING TOUR. 181 



were nearly always a pair or two in sight. I suppose they 

 breed in the roadside trees, but I only observed one old nest. 

 I noticed a pair of this species in the Bois-de-Boulogne, in the 

 suburbs of Paris. Of other Corvine species the Carrion Crow 

 was fairly common, indeed more so than the Book. I saw 

 very little of the latter species except near Amiens and 

 Beauvais. I must mention that at the latter place there are 

 some extensive woods, the valley of the Noye forming a 

 most pleasant oasis in the midst of the surrounding cultiva- 

 tion. At St. Omer — our first stopping-place — at the rear of 

 the chief hotel, is the ruin of a very large church still in good 

 preservation, but near the summit of the sustaining walls the 

 brickwork is pierced with a long row of niches. These niches 

 were occupied by a very large and noisy colony of Jackdaws. 

 I counted over sixty of this species on the slope of the roof 

 facing my bedroom window alone. Of Jays I only saw, or 

 rather heard, two pairs ; the first in the Bois-de-Boulogne, 

 the second near Samer, a town about thirteen miles from 

 Boulogne-sur-Mer. Starlings were quite uncommon, though 

 I saw a few small flocks. 



After leaving St. Omer, and just beyond the village of 

 Wizerne, I heard the notes of a Lark that were strange to 

 me. This individual, however, was very wild, and it was not 

 until I heard others in different localities that I was able to 

 identify the bird as the Crested Lark. I found this species 

 not uncommon, but rather local. There were a fair number 

 near the little town of Doullen, but still more a few miles 

 south of Amiens. I met with others about midway between 

 Paris and Fontainbleau, as well as single birds at intervals 

 along the whole route. At the coast they were fairly common 

 between Boulogne and Ambleteuse-le-Bain. The note seems 

 to me to be shriller and, at the same time, sweeter than that 

 of our Skylark, tri-syllabic in character, but impossible to 

 write down on paper.* I heard nothing of the song, owing to 

 the time of the year, and, generally speaking, found the species 

 very wild and wary. Of the Skylark I saw very little. On 



* Mr. Aplin renders it " Kay-see-sweet-weet," or " Sweet-a-weet " 

 (" Zool. " p. 325). 



