RARER BRITISH BIRDS. 
11 
ALPINE ACCENTOR. 
Accentor Alpinus. Bechstein. 
Only one species of the genus Accentor, the common Hedge- 
Sparrow, had been enumerated in the British Fauna, before the 
discovery of the bird before us ; we cannot, however, consider 
the Alpine Accentor in any other light than that of a straggler, 
or a very rare occasional visitant. It is a common bird on 
the Alps, in the neighbourhood of Mont Saint Bernard, and, 
indeed, in both France and Germany. Number i. page 134, 
of the “Zoological Journal” records, that a female specimen 
was shot in the garden of King’s College, Cambridge. It is now 
in the beautifully preserved collection of Dr. Thackeray. The 
habit of this bird is unlike that of our common, but amusing 
little bird, the Hedge-Sparrow ; perching, generally, either on 
a stone, or only on the ground, scarcely ever on trees. 
The Alpine Accentor is about seven inches in length. The 
upper parts of the head and neck are cinereous grey ; back also 
