242 



THE ZOOLOGIST 



year, 1909, being free in June, I felt a great desire to see and 

 hear it again, and in the two of its old haunts which I was able 

 to visit I was not disappointed. 



Anyone, in fact, who knows where to look for it and learns 

 to recognize its unobtrusive notes is sure to find it in fair 

 abundance in June. It is in my experience decidedly the 

 commonest Warbler in Switzerland, unless perhaps we except 

 the Garden Warbler ; and of the Phylloscopi it is quite the most 

 abundant on heights from 1000 to 5000 ft. This year I met 

 with it about a dozen times in a fortnight, while I found the 

 Wood- Wren but twice, the Chiffchaff once, and the Willow- Wren 

 not at all. The last two species are indeed by no means really 

 uncommon, but Bonelli and the Wood-Wren, which are closely 

 allied to each other in several ways, and have both the same 

 liking for steep wooded hillsides, are in the mountains the most 

 abundant of the four. 



In looking for Bonelli, there is no need to stray from roads 

 or paths. It seems to have a particular fancy for low cover by 

 the side of a high road, either immediately above or below it, 

 on some steep bank. This year I noticed that it seemed to be 

 specially fond of hazels ; anyhow, I have rarely found it among 

 pines, and I think the reason is that, like the Wood-Wren, it 

 likes to have the assistance of the dead leaves of deciduous trees 

 in concealing its nest under a stone or projecting clod. Its 

 habit, too, is to be continually on the move in low cover or bush, 

 where it finds the insects on which it feeds. One might suppose 

 that southern England would suit it, at least as well as it suits 

 the Wood-Wren, though the latter is more addicted to large 

 woods of oak or beech. 



This June I went direct from England to the Hotel Bellevue 

 at Thun, where the large garden is full of birds, some of them 

 so tame that they will hop into your bedroom and demand 

 largess. Above this garden there rises steeply a hill covered 

 with deciduous trees, where, on June 18th, 1891, I was able to 

 introduce this bird to my friend Mr. 0. V. Aplin, who, with a 

 stroke of genius, almost instantly discovered its nest, with 

 young. This was one of the only three nests I have seen ; it 

 consisted chiefly of roots and dry grass, and was lined with a 

 few hairs. It is one of the points of resemblance between Bonelli 



