147 



THE SWIFT. 



Cypselus apus (L.). 



During the last week in April a few scattered birds were 

 reported from the south coast (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset) and 

 from Surrey. On April the 29th a slight increase was noted in 

 Devon, and individuals were seen in Shropshire; others were 

 observed in Derbyshire on May the 1st and in Worcestershire 

 on May the 2nd. 



On May the 4th a large immigration evidently reached 

 the south coast between Cornwall and Hants, and the 

 birds seem to have dispersed over all parts of the country 

 except the extreme north and east. On the 5th the numbers 

 seem to have been still further augmented, but no birds were 

 recorded from Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, the Isle 

 of Man, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Durham, or Northum- 

 berland, and only a few stray birds from Sussex, Kent, Herts, 

 Cambridge and Yorkshire. 



On May the 6th another immigration probably arrived on 

 the south coast between Cornwall and Hants, for an increase 

 was noted in the extreme western counties of Wales and the 

 first arrival was recorded in Essex. 



There was evidence to show that the birds arriving in the 

 south passed on to the north, for on the 7th there was a 

 decrease in numbers in the south-west, and an increase in the 

 north-west, the first arrivals being noted in the Isle of Man 

 and Westmoreland. On the 8th there was a slight increase 

 in the east (Surrey. Essex, Berks and Cambridge), and the 

 species was recorded from Suffolk for the first time. 



By the 11th and 12th there was a general increase in the 

 number of Swifts, especially in the east, but there was no 

 evidence to show whether they came from the west or from 



