677 



of birds carrying seeds either in them or adhering lo them men- 

 tioned in books evidently apply to birds shot at, or not far from, 

 their daily liaunts, and not to snch as have just made a long 

 journey. Winge also has observed a great many instances <>!' 

 birds carrying seeds across short distances 1 . 



If then il be true that birds transport seeds capablé of ger- 

 mination across the sea but rarely, it is of no great importance 

 whether a regular migratory flight of birds passes over the Færoes 

 or not. Nevertheless it may be as well to mention what is known 

 regarding this, because according to my thinking, birds must at 

 least occasionally transport seeds across the sea, bcsides algæ and 

 spores of cryptogams, especially in the mud which may adhere to 

 them , and many spores adhering to the crops of birds have un- 

 doubtedly been introduced into the islands unnoticed. 



For a number of consecutive years the Danish ornilhologist, 

 Knud Andersen, has been publishing notes on the birds of the 

 Færoes in »Videnskabelige Meddelser fra Naturhist. Forening i Kø- 

 benhavn« (1898—1902), based more particularly on the excellent in- 

 vestigations carried out by two natives of the Færoes, viz. P. F. Pe- 

 tersen on Naalso, and Samuel Niclas sen on Myggenæs. These 

 investigations have proved that a fairly large number of migratory 

 birds pass over the Færoes, and that many, more or less chance 

 visitors, appear at the latter place. There are several records of 

 large flocks of foreign birds having been blown by strong south- 

 easterly and easterly gales to the islands, when on their way from 

 Great Britain to Norway 2 . But as yet nothing is known for certain 

 regarding the routes taken by the migratory birds on their regular 

 llights. In this connection the large race of Saxicola oenanthe is 

 of particular interest. It breeds in Labrador (does not occur else- 

 where in America), Greenland, Iceland and doubtless also in the 



1 This question has heen much discussed in lite rature, and Darwin 's notes 

 on it (The Origin of Species) are douhtless the most well-known. See also Ker- 

 ner s Pflanzenleben II, p. 803. Duval-Jouve in Bulletin de la Soc. hotanique 

 dv France, XI, 1864, p. 265. Hesselman in Botaniska Notiser, 1897. p. 97. Ser- 

 n a nder: Spridningsbiologi. — On the transport of Algæ by the agency of water 

 insects, see Migula in Biolog. Centralblatt, VIII. 



2 In Vidensk. Meddel., 1902, p. 337, we read regarding 1901 as follows: — As 

 least 12 times during the course of the j T ear birds, on their migratory journey 

 across the sea hetween the British Isles and Scandinavia, were blown to the 

 Færoes, this generally happens with the south-east and east winds, but they are 

 sometimes blown thither with the south wind also. As regards 1900, three times 

 large flocks of foreign hirds have heen blown to the Færoes by easterly gales. 



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