Birds. 1129 



they call them Charlo goufaru, that is to say, brilliant woodcock ; 

 and in winter they call them Charlo pluvii, signifying rainy woodcock. 



Common Redshank, Totanus calidris. It comes from the north 

 with the first frosts, and winters in Provence, about the mouths of ri- 

 vers ; some however pass beyond us, and return in April. 



Totanus stagnatilis. Seen in the spring but scarcely ever in autumn. 



Green Sandpiper, Totanus ochropus. 



Wood Sandpiper, Totanus glareola. 



Their migrations the same as those of the redshank. 



Common Sandpiper, Totanus hypoleucos. This bird visits us in 

 April and December, but does not stay on either passage. 



Black -tailed Godwit, Limosa melanura. Spring arrival in March 

 and April; its return varies with the cold of November. 



Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola. La Becasse. We see these birds 

 arrive from the 20th of February ; they rarely stop on their vernal pas- 

 sage, and it is only when pressed by hunger and fatigue that they rest 

 on the banks of rivers, never in the woods. They reappear from the 

 1st of November to the end of the month. The earliest arrivals only 

 cross the country, the birds which arrive in the morning leaving us in 

 the evening. About the 25th of the month they stay longer, and those 

 which are driven down by the sudden cold remain stationary, and do 

 not leave till March : they pass the winter in the woods. 



Great Snipe, Scolopax major. Arrives in April and May, and re- 

 passes about the end of the summer. 



Common Snipe, Scolopax Gallinago. The same remarks apply to 

 the snipe as to the woodcock, only that it is less wild, and stays with 

 us a little while on its vernal passage. 



Jack Snipe, Scolopax Gallinula. It appears at the end of Febru- 

 ary, in November, and during the cold weather. 



Water Rail, Rallus aquaticus. Arrives in March ; the return com- 

 mences on the 29th of September, and is prolonged until the winter 

 is far advanced. A great many remain during the whole of the win- 

 ter in our marshes. 



Land Rail, Rallus Crex. This bir.d arrives at the end of April and 

 commencement of May, and begins to return about the middle of Sep- 

 tember. It is seen during the month of October, and has been killed 

 here as late as the 15th of November. It does not winter in Provence. 

 They appear with the quails (but are far less numerous), and frequent 

 the same places ; and as they are much larger, and always appear to 

 conduct them, they have received the name of King of the quails. 



Spotted Crake, Gallinula porzana. Arrives at the end of Febru- 



