SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY: 
259 
its habits nothing has been ascertained ; and indeed the species appears to be now 
for the first time figured and described. 
Rufous Swallow, Hirundo rufula ,-—Hirondelle rousseline, Fr. —A pretty 
figure of the adult male. Inhabits the South and West of Africa; is rare in the 
North, and occasionally passes into the contiguous portions of Europe. This bird 
is so familiar in the interior of Africa that it enters the houses of the inhabitants, 
building in the- sleeping-apartment of the family. The nest is a hollow ball, lined 
with soft materials, and the entrance consists of a long tube. Lays from four to 
six white eggs, sprinkled with small brown spots. Feeds on insects and larvae. 
The crown of the head, black in the male, is rusty brown in the female. 
Numidian Demoiselle, Anthropoides virgo, —Grue demoiselle, Fr. —An ex¬ 
ceedingly lovely figure, rather more than half the natural size, of an adult male. 
Common in the North of Africa, and its great powers of flight enable it to cross 
the Mediterranean into Europe without difficulty. Dr. Latham states that it is 
found in the Southern plains about the Black and Caspian Seas, and that it is 
frequently seen beyond Lake Baikal, &c., but that it never occurs further North. 
Frequents marshes, and subsists on Snails, insects, small fish, Frogs, Lizards, &c. 
Mr. Gould observes that it bears confinement well, and has been known to breed 
in captivity. We have seen its congener, A. Stanleyanus , Vig., alive in the 
Zoological Gardens. The sexes are similar. 
Short-toed Ptarmigan, Lagopus brackydactylus ,—Tetras a-doigts-courtes, 
Fr. —The figure is somewhat under the natural size. Inhabits the extreme 
Northern regions of the old world, the dreary weather and intense cold of which 
climate its thick and compact plumage admirably adapts it to bear. The toes and 
greater part of the bill have a warm covering of down. Mr. Gould’s specimen, 
received from the North of Russia, is pure white, with the exception of a few 
black feathers in the tail. Its habits and changes of plumage are probably very 
similar to those of the other Ptarmigans.—The last bird figured in this part 
is the 
Winter Finch, Fringilla hyemalis, —Bruant Jacobin, Fr. —A male and female 
are represented with great beauty. Inhabits the regions far within the Arctic 
Circle, i common in Greenland, and has of late years been added to the European 
Fauna. Occasionally visits Iceland, where it is perhaps a bird of periodical 
passage. 44 Like the Robin the Winter Finch evinces little fear of Man, and 
readily admits his approach even in fine weather, and in hard weather is 4 so 
gentle and tame,’ says Audubon, 4 that it becomes, as it were, a companion to 
every child,’ and is indeed as well known and as much cherished by every person 
in America as the Robin is in Europe. It usually lives in families of twenty or 
thirty, and is very jealous of intrusion, and readily darts forth to repel the 
invader. It is particularly fond of Grass-seeds, and grain and berries of all 
VOL. iv.— no. xxix. 2 M 
