194 "^^^ Irish Naturalist. October, 



Saunders says^ : — " It leaves our isles and the northern 

 portion of Europe in September, but in the South the 

 abundance of insect food enables it to remain later ; and in 

 Asia Minor it has even been obtained late in November." 

 Mr. Eagle Clarke finds it entered on his Eddystone light- 

 house schedules — filled up for three years — as occurring in 

 May and September.^ He also tells us that at light -stations 

 where this species must be regarded as a bird of passage 

 only (its destinations either way being remote from where 

 its migrations have been recorded), its total period of emigra- 

 tion extends from August i6th to November 30th, " chiefly 

 September."^ With Mr. Eagle Clarke's statement that 

 the autumn movement occurs in the middle of August I 

 agree, and hope directly to show that we can push it even 

 further back towards summer. Coming to authorities who 

 have contributed exclusively to Irish ornithology, we find 

 that Mr. Ussher writes : — "In autumn Flycatchers have been 

 observed in our eastern counties to collect together and 

 draw down towards the sea. The species does not depart 

 until September, but the only occurrences in October I can 

 cite are of specimens received by Mr. Barrington from 

 Black Rock, Co. Mayo, and from the Tearaght, Co. Kerry, 

 the most remote western rocks. In the end of November, 

 1897, another was sent him from the Tuskar."* 



From this, one would gather that Mr. Ussher regards the 

 October and November records as exceptional ; the latter, 

 I believe, is, but I am not at all sure that in early October 

 the emigration of the Spotted Flycatcher has altogether 

 waned away. The bird from the Tearaght, above mentioned, 

 was obtained on October 2nd, 1887. Mr. Ussher's remarks 

 leave the impression on the reader's mind that the period 

 of emigration lasts but a month, i.e., during September. 

 However, I hope to show that, by piecing together the 

 records received by Mr. Barrington for July, September, 

 and October, with mine for August and September, the 

 emigratory movements of this bird cover a period little 



1 " Manual of British Birds," (2nd Edit.), page 157. 



2 Studies in Bird Migration, vol. i, p. 318. 



3 loc. cit. p. 134. 



* " Birds of Ireland," p. 47. 



