BIRD NOTES FROM BBEMBANA VALLEY. 15 



and they are greatly sought for their excellent flesh. Partridges 

 commonly cost about eighteenpence each. Both breed everywhere 

 on the mountains. Dr. Giacomelli assures me that the Bed- 

 legged Partridge (C rufa) is also found in the province, some- 

 times in the Brembana Valley, but especially in the Valley of 

 Scalve on the highest mountains. I have not succeeded so far in 

 getting any specimen of this species, which is on the way of be- 

 coming extinct in manj'^ parts of Italy ; in Tuscany and in the 

 Elba Island it also becomes every year more and more rare. 



Grallatores and Anseres, in the Brembana Valley properly 

 called, are almost absent, or irregular and straggler visitors ; but 

 I have noticed the following : — Lapwing {Vanellus capella) ; 

 Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis, v. Co-dur, Pivie), of which 

 I have a specimen from Ponte Enna (1837 ft.), April 1st, 1890 ; 

 and I am sure that the Dotterel {Eud7'omias morinellus) must 

 appear on the high meadows ; the Broad-billed Sandpiper 

 {Limicola platyrhyncha) appeared once on the Brembo Rivier 

 close to S. Giovanni Bianco on Aug. 27th last year; Dr. Gia- 

 comelli has preserved the rare specimen, but, alas ! in a pitiful 

 state of preservation ; the Common Redshank ( Totanus calidris, 

 v. Culett) is uncommon ; in my collection there is a specimen 

 from Costa dei Lupi (1867 ft.) ; it was caught starving on April 

 4th, 1900 ; the Greenshank {T. glottis, v. Sgambetu) is rarer 

 than the latter, but I had a specimen killed along the Brembo on 

 Maj' 2nd, 1896 ; it is also in my collection ; the Common Heron 

 {Ardea cinerec() ; Purple Heron {A. purpurea), and Squacco 

 Heron {Ardeola ralloides) are seen sometimes during spring ; 

 the Woodcock {Scolopax rusticola) is a fairly common bird during 

 the passages and in winter ; it seems to have bred once near 

 Fuipiano al Brembo (1411 ft.); the Common Snipe {Gallinago 

 ccelestis) is sometimes seen along the Brembo, and so is the 

 Double Snipe {G. major) and the Jack-Snipe (G. gallinula), as I 

 have been told. During stormy winter weather the Common 

 Gull {harus canus) and the Black- headed Gull (L. ridibundus, v. 

 Gabia) were seen along the Brembo ; and regarding the Great 

 Crested Grebe, Dr. Giacomelli assures me that a specimen was 

 caught at the Ponte dei Frati (1207 ft.), near S. Giovanni Bianco, 

 in the winter of 1 898 ; and, finally, amongst the Wild Ducks we 

 can mention Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, and Gargauey, all of them 

 irregular visitors. 



