164 The Irish Naturalist. September, 



ROCK-PIPITS ON MIGRATION, 

 OBSERVED AT THE TUSKAR ROCK. 



BY PROFESSOR C J. PATTEN, M.A., M.D., SC.D. 



The negative evidence which I have obtained in regard to 

 the presence of the Rock-Pipit at the lantern of the Tuskar 

 Lighthouse during my eight weeks' residence there — 

 including both spring and autumn migration seasons — can 

 hardy be taken as an indication that the bird is unduly 

 stationary, or at most a mere desultory and local migrant. 

 For, like its congener the Meadow-Pipit (a markedly mi- 

 gratory species), it very seldom visits the lantern, move- 

 ments by daylight in both species being much more in 

 evidence. 



I may say in passing that of the large number of Meadow- 

 Pipits which I observed and collected at the Tuskar light - 

 station, not one was taken at the lantern, nor have I as yet 

 any positive personal knowledge of a single bird appearing 

 in the rays. I do not intend in this paper to make any 

 further reference to the migrations of the Meadow-Pipit 

 regarding daylight movement, and mention this point 

 merely to show the strong analogous features of migration 

 in two closely -allied species. But, inasmuch as the Rock- 

 Pipit appears less often than, and is easily confounded with, 

 the Meadow-Pipit (especially about rocks on dark, gloomy 

 days), by other than expert ornithologists, it seems likely 

 that the former is often overlooked at light-stations when 

 on its diurnal migrations. 



A perusal of Mr. Barrington's " Migration of Birds at 

 Irish Light -Stations," and of Mr. Ussher's " Birds of Ire- 

 land," has induced me to draw attention to the supposed 

 featureless migration of the Rock-Pipit, which appears to 

 be wholly based upon the supposed paucity of direct evidence 

 of its migrations in so far as the Irish coast is co\icerned. 

 But, as we shall see directly, this evidence, when analysed, 

 is far less slender than has been supposed. In his "Mi- 

 gration of Birds, "-^ Mr. Barrington dismisses his account of 



•1 Analysis of Reports, 1881-97, p. 102. 



