74 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



records. They are possibly clue to some unaccountable 

 failure of that special faculty possessed by migratory birds 

 which leads them unconsciously to proceed along the lines 

 they should go to reach the seasonal haunts resorted to by 

 their forebears. The incentive to migrate was, however, 

 evidently strong within them, or they would not have 

 reached such a far-off goal as Fair Isle. The weather at the 

 time was fine and settled, so that the storm-driven theory 

 does not afford an explanation of these vagaries in migration 

 phenomena. 



Among the remaining novelties are several well-known 

 though unlookcd for British birds, to wit, the Grasshopper 

 Warbler, the Wood Warbler, and the Black Redstart ; while 

 the rest comprise species which are less surprising in their 

 appearance but are yet to be deemed of considerable interest : 

 these are the Grey-headed Wagtail, the Hoopoe, and the 

 Snowy Owl. 



A number of species — the Little Bunting, Ortolan 

 Bunting, Lapp Bunting, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Yellow- 

 browed Warbler, Arctic Bluethroat, etc. — are worthy of 

 special mention as having again visited the island, and 

 thereby strengthened their claim to be regarded as regular 

 birds of passage, not only at Fair Isle but on Scottish 

 shores. 



The repeated appearance, too, of such birds as the Tree 

 Pipit, Whinchat, Red-backed Shrike, Shore Lark, and others, 

 which have hitherto been regarded as exceptional in their 

 visits to the Northern Archipelagos, is not less gratifying, 

 and is, most assuredly, not less important. On the other 

 hand, certain species were remarkable for their great scarcity 

 during the autumn of 1907, among others the Goldcrest 

 and Woodcock ; while some were either entirely absent 

 or escaped notice, such as the Pied Flycatcher and Sedge 

 Warbler. 



A considerable number of birds were killed at the lanterns 

 of the two Lighthouses. The greatest immolation of these 

 innocents took place on the early morning of October 17th, 

 when at the South Lighthouse alone not less than 500 

 Redwings and Song Thrushes; 100 Fieldfares; 12 Ring 

 Ousels ; many Blackbirds ; a number of Starlings, Bramblings, 



