ALPINUS ACCENTOR. 
195 
the neighbourhood of Epping Forest, another at Cambridge, 
and a third in the garden of the Deanery of Wells. 
Although the Alpine Accentor is considered a rare and 
accidental visitor with us, yet some may possibly pass unno¬ 
ticed : should a specimen come under the observation of an 
inexperienced observer, it may be detected by these general 
characteristics :—In form, this bird is short and rather stout; 
its wings are large, and the breadth of the tail, which is very 
conspicuous, would alone enable an ornithologist to detect it. 
All the feathers of the tail have a white, or buff-coloured spot 
upon their tips : in adult birds the throat is white, with 
black crescent-shaped spots : young birds have the throat ash- 
colour, without spots. Its habits, as before mentioned, 
are terrestrial, and when on the ground it frequently moves 
its tail and wings in the manner of the redbreast. This 
species is the largest of its family. 
The distinguishing characters of the genus Accentor of 
Bechstein, are:—bill strong, straight and sharp pointed, the 
upper mandible emarginated ; nostrils naked and basal, pierced 
in a large membrane: first quill-feather of the wing very 
short, the second and third nearly equal. 
The measurements of this bird are as follows. Its length 
is from six and a half to seven inches from the tip of the beak to 
the extremity of the tail. The tail is slightly forked, and the 
upper tail-coverts, which are very long, reach to within an 
inch of its extremity. The beak is seven lines in length, 
and much compressed towards the tip, which is black, while 
at the base both mandibles are yellow : the gape and tongue 
are also yellow ; the iris is yellowish brown in adult birds, 
and cinereous brown in young specimens. The claws are of 
moderate length, and rather stout and large, particularly the 
hinder, which are much arched, compressed towards the tip 
and very sharp. The front of the tarsus is scaled ; the legs 
are dingy reddish yellow, the soles and joints of the feet and 
