68 The zoologist. 



song, but at Thun and Interlaken it almost constantly used the 

 Wood Wren-like prelude (which I have heard in some parts of 

 England also). At Thun the strain was peculiarly full, loud, and 

 rich (18th June). In the pines near the Magis Alp (4000— 5000ft.) 

 we heard it, and on the Engstlen Alp, also daily in the scattered 

 pines at the edge. One remarkably fine male, which was singing 

 on a pine standing below me on a slope, was the brightest I ever 

 saw. Colours decidedly pale and very bright. Breast lovely pink, 

 with more of this tint and less of the salmon-colour than our 

 bird has. Still in full song at Stansstad on the 28th. 



Linota linaria, Mealy Redpoll. — Mr. Howard Saunders doubts 

 if the Mealy Redpoll reaches below 58° N. latitude, and says, "for 

 the bird found breeding in the mountain regions of Central Europe 

 is, probably, our Lesser Redpoll" (111. Manual of Brit. Birds). 

 I think this statement should be modified. It is true that Mr. 

 Fowler procured a Redpoll on the Engstlen as long ago as 30th 

 June, 1884, which there can be little doubt, from his description, 

 was a Lesser Redpoll, and this form seems to have been found in 

 other mountain localities in Central Europe ; but the Mealy Red- 

 poll also breeds there, and is probably at all events the prevalent 

 species. Mr. Saunders refers to " the fact that Mr. S. B. Wilson 

 found it [L. rufescens] nesting on the Engstlen Alp (6100 ft), and 

 in other parts of Switzerland." I do not know if Mr. Wilson has 

 the specimens now, but I find that, in his paper in 'The Ibis' 

 (1887, pp. 130—150) he merely includes the six specimens he 

 shot on the Engstlen under the name L. rufescens, remarking that 

 only one had a red breast ; and he does not refer to L. linaria. 

 The Redpolls in the Bern Museum are labelled rufescens, except 

 one which bears the name alnorum, but they are all pale birds. 

 I can only say that the three pairs I saw on the Engstlen Alp, 

 and one pair on the Gerschni Alp (sitting on the ridge of a hay 

 chalet, to which they doubtless came to feed on the shed grass 

 seeds), were all Mealy Redpolls, and very well marked examples 

 of the species too. I spent some time in examining them, often 

 at very close quarters, through strong glasses. They were large 

 birds, the males very mealy above, very light-coloured underneath, 

 almost white, with a lovely rose-coloured breast ; females darker 

 on the back. The song of these birds struck me as different from 

 that of the Lesser Redpoll ; I noted it down as " zig-wig-chutta 

 chutta chutta che we we." They sang this strain from the top of 



