NOTES FEOM SWITZERLAND AND NORTH ITALY. 261 



Innsbruck ; so that the bird at this point has passed the summit 

 of the barrier. Left Milan for Verona. 



Nov. 21st. In the picturesque market-place of Verona there 

 were many stalls covered with birds,'chiefly Sparrows, Chaffinches, 

 Bramblings, Kobins, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, and many Hawfinches 

 — fine bright birds. One man was selling live stock — Serins, 

 Siskins, and Little Owls (Athene noctua). The latter are much 

 used by the Italian birdcatchers, who place them in a conspicuous 

 position, in order to attract the small birds, which come in crowds 

 to mob them. This use of Owls by fowlers is evidently very 

 ancient, for it is mentioned by Aristotle (' History of Animals,' 

 Book IX. chap. ii.). There is also a Museum at Verona, which 

 contains a gallery with " Avifauna Veronese" written up over the 

 doorway. The collection consists of about four hundred speci- 

 mens, including some American forms (e. g. Turdus migratorius, 

 Ectopistes migratorius, and Tringa maeularid), but unfortunately 

 none of the specimens have labels attached. I noticed some 

 Starlings in the town, but saw absolutely nothing during a walk 

 along the banks of the Adige, and in the evening left for Venice. 



Nov. 22nd. On my way to church I saw from my gondola 

 a few Herring Gulls, Larus cacchinans, feeding at the mouth of 

 the Grand Canal, and showing their yellow legs very distinctly 

 as they hovered for food over the surface of the water. L, ridi- 

 bundus was also there in fairly large numbers. 



On Nov. 23rd saw what I believe to have been a cock Spar- 

 row, P. domesticus, but could not be sure, as the bird was soaked. 

 Kained hard all day. On the 24th left Venice for Bologna, and 

 on the 26th moved on to Florence. 



From Nov. 27th to Dec. 17th I remained at or in the vicinity 

 of Florence. The country here is so laid out in olive-yards and 

 vine -yards, and the roads have mostly such high walls on both 

 sides, that to observe birds was generally quite impossible. Even 

 when you found a clear spot the birds were very difficult to 

 approach, and there were very few of them ; they are shot at and 

 trapped on all sides, and are consequently very wary, observing 

 you long before you observed them. There is a fine market in 

 Florence, and during my daily visits I picked up one or two speci- 

 mens for skinning — e. g., Lanius excubitor, Sylvia melanocephala, 

 Acredula Irbyi, Serinus hortulanus, Melanocorypha calandra, and 

 Cinclus albicollis. The birds seen in this market would make a 



