78 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 



collecting observatious on birds, have kindly sent me speci- 

 mens, with dates and localities where obtained while out 

 shooting. This has proved of much assistance to me in 

 fixing the dates of arrival of many of the larger and rarer 

 autumn migrants. 



Although the fauna of Portugal is, as would naturally be 

 expected, almost identical with that of Spain, and much 

 resembles that of Italy, there are nevertheless some special 

 points of interest in this country. It forms the extreme 

 westerly point of Europe, and many of its birds differ 

 widely from those of the east of Europe ; it has a long 

 line of coast washed, by the Atlantic, favourable for observa- 

 tions on sea-birds, some of which perhaps are not met with 

 in the Mediterranean ; it is also one of the great high- 

 ways for the migration of birds to Africa and back again. 

 Some species are merely regular summer or winter resi- 

 dents. 



Numerous observations on what has been called the 

 " Mystery of Mysteries/^ the migration of birds, are much 

 required from all countries. Colonel Irby made some excel- 

 lent notes on the birds of Southern Spain during his stay 

 at Gibraltar, and gave them in his book, ' The Ornitho- 

 logy of the Straits of Gibraltar;^ and these, I believe, are 

 the only ones which have been published on the migration 

 of the birds of Spain. What renders Portuguese ornitho- 

 logy more especially interesting is the gi'cat current of 

 migrants which passes every autumn along the coast of 

 Portugal from north to south, and again in spring from 

 south to north. There are also arrivals on the coast as 

 winter approaches of birds which appear to come from the 

 mountains of the interior of Spain and Portugal, as, for 

 instance, the AVood Lark, Southern Grey Shrike, and Dart- 

 ford Warbler ; this latter species has been thought to be one 

 of those which do not wander, but there is no doubt that 

 it is partly migratory in this country. 



The most superficial observer cannot avoid noticing the 

 passage southwards of flocks of Turtle Doves, Tree Pipits, 

 and Hoopoes during the month of September, followed by 



