SOME SWISS BIRDS. 



395 



elevation of about 8000 ft., but nowhere did I find Swallows 

 higher than about 3000 ft. 



The Marmots in the Rhone Valley kept up their shrill 

 whistling all day long, but it was difficult to sight them. 



When we left the Rhone Glacier Hotel our next post was the 

 Kleine Scheidegg, 6768 ft., and there I was led to expect many 

 bird residents, such as " Blackcocks, Mountain Cocks (sic), 

 Mountain Swallows," &c, but I could only find the following : — 

 Crow, Redpoll, Black Redstart, Water-Pipit, and Siskin, or 

 "Zeisig," as this little bird is called in Switzerland ; but on the 

 rocks over the Eiger Gletscher Station, 7620 ft , the first station 

 on the wonderful Jungfrau Railway, there were many Alpine 

 Choughs, and the air was filled with their shrill cries. I thought, 

 also, that on one evening I saw one of the Ravens reported from 

 the Lauberhorn circling round the station. 



Redpolls were very numerous, and were to be found all along 

 the descent from the Kleine Scheidegg to Grindelwald. On the 

 Lauberhorn, 8120 ft., and the Mannlichen, 7695 ft., there were 

 no birds whatever. 



My third chaplaincy was at Macolin-over-Bienne, Jura 

 Bernoise, 2883 ft., a lovely spot with views embracing the distant 

 Alps from Sentis to Mont Blanc, and there I noted thirty-two 

 species ; the most remarkable being the Common Buzzard, the 

 Black Kite over the Lake of Bienne, and the Alpine Swift — 

 numbers of these birds were circling round the Stadtkirche at 

 Bienne ; but I saw none at Berne, where, at one time, they were 

 so numerous. Jays were also very plentiful in the pine-woods, 

 and Willow- Warblers and Chiffchaffs were calling ; Crested Tits 

 were also common. I should think that in May this would be 

 a splendid station for observing birds, as the woods are really 

 magnificent, reaching down 1500 ft. and more to the lake below. 

 It is easy also of access from England, being only about two 

 hours from Bale, whilst it can be reached even more speedily 

 from Belfort. 



On the whole, I noted fifty-two species in Switzerland, but 

 I should probably have observed more were it not that my 

 localities were for the first month at such high altitudes, and for 

 the last in August, one of the most unfavourable months in the 

 year for bird observation. 



