the Years IDOG and 1907. 63 



as it is absolutely necessary to have accurate data (giving 

 the exact date) for the sake of comparison, and to obtain 

 satisfactory results. 



" Beautiful faunistic works on the ornis of Africa contain 

 hardly an authenticated date of our migratory birds, and I 

 found it necessary upon seeing Whitaker's beautiful book, 

 the ' Birds of Tunisia,* to request the late Professor Newton 

 in 1905 to draw the attention of his countrymen (so energetic 

 in matters pertaining to Natural History) to the important 

 point of adding the exact date on which species of migratory 

 interest were obtained or observed. Notes such as ^ be- 

 ginning of March,' ' middle of March/ &c., are not of much 

 use for the combination of observations, especially when we 

 consider the pace at which migrating birds usually travel. 

 Unfortunately, Professor Newton was of opinion that the 

 adoption of this course would be too much additional trouble 

 to the traveller. It is therefore apparent that without accu- 

 rate data (giving the exact dates of the various observations) 

 we can never hope to solve the problems of migration. 

 Prom such data it would be possible to gauge the southerly 

 limit of migration for any given form (viz. not only species) 

 from a given Northern localiiy with some degree of cer- 

 tainty. Even if the information extended to only a few 

 species it would give us a fair insight into the course and 

 reason of the migration. 



"Therefore the article of W. L. Sclater, 'The Migration 

 of Birds in South Africa,' in the J. S. A. 0. U. for June 190(j 

 (pp. 14-24), is a scientific work — ornithoph[enologicallv 

 si)eaking— which might rightly be termed a real ' light from 

 the South/ and which wo heartily welcome. Sclater inter- 

 prets the work of simultaneous observation quite correctly, 

 and separates the Birds of South Africa (according to i\nt 

 'Fauna of S. Africa^ — which describes 814 species) as 

 follows : — 



"'Residents G31, Northern migrants ?(», African migrants 

 21, partial migrants 50 ; 36 species breed on islands. The 

 territory is taken as from the south of the Zambesi. (Here 



(J* 



