264 Transactions. — Zoology. 



appearance ; yet the species has not become naturalised, nor 

 has it established, a regular migration, and, we may feel sure, 

 will never do so. They have to leave the Islands in the 

 winter for want of food, and they never return. However 

 much we may try to introduce swallows, we shall never 

 succeed until we can induce flies to remain out all the winter. 

 It is the same with all insect-eating birds — like nightingales, 

 which cannot support themselves in the winter in the absence 

 of insect life. There are non-migrating insect-eating birds, 

 like the hedge-sparrow and the robin, which are able to eke 

 out an existence on seeds when no insects are about, and of 

 these the hedge-sparrow has succeeded with us. But, in my 

 opinion, it is idle to attempt to introduce into New Zea- 

 land any bird that has inherited strong migratory instincts. 

 About twenty-eight years ago some thirty lapwings or peewits 

 (Vanellus cristatus) were turned out at Auckland, and they 

 were never seen again. They could hardly have died for want 

 of food, for that is abundant ; they must have flown out to 

 sea, making, as they thought, for their old breeding-grounds 

 in England, and all, no doubt, perished. So, I am afraid, it 

 always will be, and attempts to introduce migratory birds 

 into New Zealand will always end in failure. 



