332 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



little while the Dipper began to feed. The Ourthe just there is 

 a shallow crystal-clear river, with not more than a foot of water 

 over a brown stony bottom. The bird often plunged into the 

 water to swim and to wade over the big stones, and sometimes 

 went under the surface with a splashing rush. Once or twice it 

 turned up its tail-end almost like a duck, and more than once it 

 took a header from a stone. As far as I could see, it was a con- 

 siderable exertion to get under the water, and the bird remained 

 not more than fifteen seconds under water on any occasion In 

 the afternoon we went by way of the little elevated village of 

 Cielle — where I noticed Tree Sparrow and White Wagtail — to 

 Jupelle, and came back up the very beautiful river valley. Saw 

 some Golden-crested Wrens in a spruce-wood, and Linnets and 

 Magpies by the way. Marsh Tits were everywhere by far the 

 most numerous of the genus. A great and noisy concourse of 

 Carrion Crows were wheeling about over a wood at the top of a 

 ridge ; there were about fifty of them. The Crow family was 

 well represented in the Ardennes. Jays were naturally abundant 

 in the woods, but I do not remember seeing any Rooks. The 

 Roman Snail (Helix pomatia) is found at La Roche. 



Oct. 13th. Milder. A Black Redstart was hawking Hies from 

 its perch on the roof a tiny chapel on the hillside ; it sang a 

 little. Its call-note was a faint soft " sit," repeated often. In 

 the Bois we saw a Spotted Woodpecker (D. major) hammering 

 an oldish oak-tree. On a sunny slope there were a few butter- 

 flies, including a " Camberwell Beauty" (Vanessa antiopa). Late 

 in the afternoon we walked along the road through the Bois, in 

 the hopes of hearing the Little Owl, which occurs here (and, 

 south of the Mediterranean at all events, is very noisy about 

 sunset), but without success; so I expect they must be rare. 

 Lovely golden tints were coming on the beeches, which were very 

 fine, many of them having smooth silvery bark. This variety is 

 known to English timber-merchants as " yellow beech"; the 

 timber is said to be very good, and much superior to that of the 

 ordinary or " white beech." The production of the yellow variety 

 seems to be chiefly a question of soil in England. One little 

 park in North Oxon is noted for it. The effect of the different 

 trees massed, and seen at different distances on the shoulders of 

 the hills, varying in colour from yellowish green to purple, was 

 extremely fine. I saw the following stuffed birds in La Roche : 



