24 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



movement on the lines of the autumn emigration, and would 

 also seem to imply that the bird is of more frequent 

 occurrence. 



The whole of the circumstances surrounding the occur- 

 rence of this little bird on that remote Orcadian rock brings 

 prominently to our notice how little we really know of what 

 is passing along our shores during the periods of migration ; 

 how much may, and does, yearly escape our attention ; and 

 also the extent to which the little knowledge we possess 

 comes to us by the merest chance. 



The specimen is now in the British Collection in the 

 Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. 



LESSER WHITETHROAT (Sylvia currucd). A fine adult 

 male was killed at the lantern of the Sule Skerry Light- 

 house on the night of the i/th of September last, and was 

 forwarded to me in the flesh. This species undoubtedly 

 occurs annually on the Scottish coasts as a transient 

 migrant, especially on the eastern seaboard, when pro- 

 ceeding to and fro between its Scandinavian summer haunts 

 and its African winter retreats. It seems, however, to escape 

 detection in quite a remarkable manner during these migra- 

 tions, and Mr. Tomison's capture is a welcome as well as an 

 interesting addition to our scanty knowledge on the subject. 

 Although, there can be little doubt, it is a bird of double 

 passage, yet all our information refers to its occurrence on 

 the autumn journey, during which it has been recorded 

 for Shetland on four occasions (Saxby), North Ronaldshay 

 twice (Allan Briggs), once Barra (MacGillivray), once for 

 Aberdeenshire (Sim), and twice at Berwick (Bolam) ; while 

 one seen by Dr. Hamilton in West Inverness-shire, on the 

 lOth of August i 880, was either a transient visitor or an 

 emigrant summer bird. It is a local summer visitor to the 

 Solway area, and there are one or two reliable records of 

 its having nested elsewhere in Scotland. 



BLACK-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa belgicd}. A wing and 

 leg of an adult male of this somewhat rare bird of passage 

 on the east coast of Scotland was forwarded to me from the 

 Isle of May, where it had been obtained on or about the 

 30th of May last. 



