94 Corre'^po7jdence. 



The farmer, Mr. J. Mayer, took the label off and has it in 

 his possession. As I am interested in birds of any sort and the mi- 

 gratior of same, I shall bo glnd to know if you receive this letter 

 safely. 



Yours truly, 



C. H. ErnnorK, Prnpri^tnr. 



Tlie ring B.8.T0 was put on an adult Swallow by \[r. J. R. B. 

 Ma,sefield. at Rosehill, Choalle. Slarrords^iire on May nth, 1011. This 

 bird was oiue of a pair (Mr. Masefield thought the female) which 

 nested in a porch. Its mate was also caught and ringed. At the 

 same time Mr. Masefleld ringed another pair nesting in the same 

 porch. In the sumnior of 1912 he ag^ain rausrht the Swallows which 

 had come to nest in his porch and found that only one- of them had a 

 ring, viz. B.827, which was one of the b-rds nesting there the year 

 before. Neither its mate nor the other pair of which the present 

 B.830 is one had returned to this particular spot. 



That this Swallow breeding in the far west of Europe should 

 have rear.hed so far to the south -p^s^ of Africa as Natal, seems to me 

 extraordinary. Unfortunately the few "records we have as yet of ringed 

 Swallows recovered during migration do not afford a clue to the routes 

 taken, and it seems to me unreasonable to suppose that our birds 

 proceed southwards down the east side of Africa, as m!ght be in- 

 ferred from this Natal record. 



It is, indeed, quite impossible to theorize on a single recovery 

 of this kind and we must be content at present with the bare fact — 

 perhaps the most s'artline: fact that the ringing of birds has as yet 

 produced. 



We are most thankful to Mr. Ruddock for reporting this 

 extremely interesting recovery and we hope that the details of it will 

 become widely known in South .Africa and thus produce further results. 



H. P. WlTHEEBY. 



Post Mortem Reports 



See Rules on page iii. of cover. 



None to hand at time of goincf to presi^, if 

 in time ivill be inehufed in Green Page In- 

 set. — Ed. 



