BIRDS SEEN IN SWITZERLAND. 71 



following the old birds at Thun. They did not come up to 

 the Alpbach, but we found them at Engelberg; birds seem 

 to have a higher range on this side of the Joeh Pass than 



the other. 



C. corax, Raven. — Heard on the snowy mountains on the 

 south side of the Engstlen See; one seen a little way up the 

 Joch Pass, and a pair at the top. 



Alanda arvensis, Sky Lark. — Only seen near Bienne. 



Cypselus apus, Swift. — There must be something about Bern 

 which is very attractive to Swifts. They swarm in the town, and 

 their screaming is heard all day as they dash about the wide 

 streets under the eaves of the houses. The upper part of the 

 town stands 100 ft. above the Aare, and possibly its position 

 (1760 ft.) may be the reason why the Swifts keep down to the 

 level of the house-roofs to a large extent. But the Swift flies 

 high. They used to scream round the Alpbach, and many were 

 about the face of a cliff high above the hotel; above Golderen, 

 too (3500 ft.), I saw them. No Swallows or Martins appeared in 

 these places. There were many at Engelberg, and some at 

 Stansstad. The screaming of the hotel colony as they dashed 

 round and round over the garden will always be associated in my 

 mind with a rosy sunset on the snow peaks of the Oberland as a 

 chief remembrance of Bern ; while now and then could be seen 

 high up above them the sailing flight of their great Alpine 

 relations whose scream came down faintly. 



C. melba, Alpine Swift. — As many as forty or fifty in the air 

 at once round the Cathedral at Bern. Some went in under the 

 eaves of the red roof, and others lower down, so they do not seem 

 to be disturbed by the scaffolding of the workmen. The Alpine 

 Swifts flap their wings less frequently and seem to go slower than 

 the common species ; but this is because they fly less hurriedly, 

 and really they go at wonderful pace. They almost always seem 

 to fly very high, and on one blazing hot day their white under- 

 pays could be seen at a great height in the violet-blue sky. We 

 saw some come slanting down to sport over the river for a minute 

 or two and to dip in it ; as they dipped they raised their long 

 wings over their backs. Standing on the Minister Terrasse on 

 these occasions, one had an opportunity of noting the colour of 

 their backs, which is very like that of the Sand Martin's. The 

 Alpine Swift often utters a short, sharp note, " cheef," but the 



