1 78 THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



quarter-inch glass was smashed into many small 

 pieces." At the Hasbro Light-vessel from Oct. 

 loth 1883, to January 3rd 1884, no less than 

 162 Sky-Larks, 73 Starlings, 23 Chaffinches, 60 

 Larks and Chaffinches, i BrambHng, 3 Fieldfares, 

 3 Thrushes, i Blackbird, i Redwing, 2 Gold crests, 



1 Hooded Crow, i Rook, i Kingfisher, i Tame 

 Pigeon, I Lapwing, 3 Ringed Plovers, 4 Gray 

 Plovers, I Oystercatcher, i Curlew, i Whimbrel, 



2 Woodcocks, and 28 Stormy Petrels, "besides 

 a large tub and bucket-full various," struck and 

 were killed against the lantern, or were picked up 

 on board ! At the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse, off 

 Wexford, 1200 birds were counted as killed in 

 a single night, whilst hundreds more fell into 

 the sea ! I might continue giving hundreds of 

 instances of fatalities against Lights, but the limits 

 of my space forbid. 



The last most important peril of the road is the 

 danger of losing it. Strange as the fact may seem 

 to the uninitiated, great numbers of birds blunder 

 every year, take the wrong direction at some im- 

 portant point of the journey, and find themselves 

 eventually in countries thousands of miles to the 

 east or west of their proper destination ! It is 

 difficult to form any estimate of the number of 

 these little erring migrants every year, but there 

 can be no question that it is very considerable. The 

 young birds are the greatest blunderers, the birds 

 that have practically no knowledge whatever of the 

 road, and have to depend entirely on the guidance 



