Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/37

Rh 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 Red-legged Partridge (C. rufa) is also found in the province, sometimes 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 becoming extinct in many 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-dùr, Piviè), of which I have a specimen from Ponte Enna (1837 ft.), April 1st, 1890; and I am sure that the Dotterel (Eudromias 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. Giacomelli has preserved the rare specimen, but, alas! in a pitiful state of preservation; the Common Redshank (Totanus calidris, v. Culètt) 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. Sgambetù) is rarer than the latter, but I had a specimen killed along the Brembo on May 2nd, 1896; it is also in my collection; the Common Heron (Ardea cinerea); 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 cœlestis) 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 (Larus canus) and the Black-headed Gull (L. ridibundus, v. Gabià) 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 1898; and, finally, amongst the Wild Ducks we can mention Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, and Garganey, all of them irregular visitors.