nOTES 



A SWALLOW RINGED IN STAFFORDSHIRE AND 

 RECOVERED IN NATAL. 



The following letter has just reached me : — 



Grand Hotel, 



Utrecht, Natal, 

 " Witherby," 21(h December, 1912. 



High Holborn, London. 

 Dear Sir, 



On December 23i'd a Swallow was caught in the farmhouse 

 of the farm " Roodeyand," 18 miles from this town, with a metal 

 label round its leg, with the words : Witherby, High Holborn, 

 London, and on the other side B.830. 



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

 possession. As I am interested in birds of any sort and the migration 

 of same, I shall be glad to know if you receive this lettar safely. 



Yours truly, 



C. H. RtXDDOCK, Proprietor. 



The ring B.830 was put on an adult Swallow {Chelidon 

 r. rustica) by Mr. J. R. B. Masefield, at Rosehill, Cheadle, 

 Staffordshire, on May 6th, 1911. This bird was one 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. Masefield ringed another pair nesting in the 

 same porch. In the summer of 1912 he again caught the 

 Swallows which had come to nest in his porch and foimd 

 that only one of them had a ring, \dz. B.827, Avhich was one 

 of the birds nesting there the year before (see su-pra, p. 13). 

 Neither its mate nor the other pair of which the present 

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



That this SwalloAv breeding in the far west of Europe 

 should have reached so far to the south-casi 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 might be inferred 

 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 



