THE PERILS OF MIGRATION. 177 



the keeper reports on the nights of October 31st 

 to November ist, 1883: "What we think were 

 Woodcocks struck with great force. Birds con- 

 tinued flying within the influence of the rays of 

 light till the flrst streak of day, continually striking 

 hard all -night, and falling into the sea. Although 

 we cannot be sure, w^e think there was a great number 

 of W^oodcocks struck, and fell into the sea." The 

 force with which some birds strike is terrific. A 

 Little Grebe {Podiceps minor) struck the lantern 

 of the Hasbro Light-vessel, oflf the Norfolk Coast, 

 at II P.M. on the night of March 30th, 1883, 

 with such force as to split the bird from the neck 

 along the entire length of the body ! The keeper 

 of the Longstone Lighthouse reports on the night 

 of November loth, 1885 • " ^^^ ^^ ^he large Snipe 

 struck S.E. side of lantern at 9.45 p.m., and was 

 almost smashed to pieces." Again, as recorded in 

 a Gottland newspaper: "A curious circumstance 

 happened at the Faro Lighthouse on the 20th 

 October. About 8.30 in the evening a sharp report 

 was heard by the man on watch. He immediately 

 went up to the lantern to ascertain the cause, when 

 he found two of the panes of glass broken into 

 small pieces, as well as three Long-tailed Ducks 

 {Harehia glacialis) lying dead inside. There were 

 also three lamp-glasses broken and a third pane of 

 glass cracked in many places. On the ground 

 below lay nine more birds of the same sort. The 

 Ducks had come from a northerly direction. The 

 flight must have been at a remarkable speed, as the 



