THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 287 



mouths in the museum of that city. A second example was shot by 

 Hancock, on the 26th of September 1838, on the English coast ; and, 

 in October 1845, two of these birds were taken in the neighbourhood 

 of Berlin. Another example was shot near Milan in 1847 ; and 

 one was captured, on the 15th of September 1861, near Leyden. 

 Another was shot in England on the 11th of October 1867; and, 

 lastly, Eiichner (Vogel des Pc'lembun/er Gowvernements), mentions 

 one which was caught in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg on 

 the 22nd of October 1878. 



These eight isolated and scattered instances Avould cover all our 

 knowledge in regard to the occurrence of this species on European 

 soil, if little Heligoland had not come forward with its own small 

 mite. The record of this island, however, is a notable one, as com- 

 pared with the isolated data from the Continent of Europe. From 

 the time that I obtained the first example of the species, in October 

 1 846, and was thus enabled to direct the attention of our gunners to 

 it, up to the 9th of November 1886, more than eighty authenticated 

 instances of its occurrence have been recorded, of which number 

 thirty-two or thirty-three examples have been shot. Besides, those 

 nuich valued young sporting friends of mine, the blowpipe- and 

 catapult-shooters, to whom I owe many a bird of this and other rare 

 Icinds, have reported to me at least twenty times that they had 

 been engaged in a fruitless hunt after a ' StriUvcd Fliegenbitter ' = 

 Striped Warbler. I have never, however, noted these statements, 

 but only such undoubted cases in which the bird was seen, cither 

 by Aeuckens, my son Ludwig, Lorenz Dijhn, or myself 



Of these specimens, stuffed by myself, six are before me at the 

 present moment ; two — one of which was the first example, shot on 

 tlie 4th of October 1846 — I gave to the late Colonel von Zittwitz, 

 and these, with the rest of his rich collection, will at present probably 

 be found either in the museum of the University of Leyden or in the 

 town museum of Gorlitz. Two other specimens were given to my 

 late friend Professor Blasius, and are preserved in the Museum of 

 Brunswick ; another is in the Museum of Coburg ; one is in the 

 possession of the Honourable Percy Fcilding of London; another 

 stuffed specimen, dried after it had been somewhat damaged by 

 shots, was given to Professor Alfred Newton ; two skins, unfortun- 

 ately much damaged, 1 gave to Mr. Seebohm, who added thereto a 

 third, which he shot himself in my garden on the 5th of October 

 LS76; and, lastly, I presented a stuffed specimen to my friend, 

 John Cordeaux, on the occasion of his recent visit. Besides I have 

 given away several others, but cannot at the present moment 

 I'emcmber where they went to ; four or five other examples were so 

 much damaged by the shot, that there was nothing more to be done 



