i893. 



THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 779 



showing the capabilities of small land-birds to make a successful 

 passage of the sea under the most trying and adverse conditions : — 



On October 13, wind northerly, moderate, very iine, little or 

 no migration ; one woodcock, one golden-crested wren, and a few 

 redwings, the latter increasing in the afternoon. Early morning of 

 14, soon after midnight, wind veered to east, blowing more than 

 half a gale, with heavy rain continuous to morning of i6th. During 

 this time very heavy migration, low flying when actually seen. Enor- 

 mous numbers of gold-crests came in, also nearly equal numbers of 

 redbreasts, these two species, separately, probably outnumbering all 

 the others put together ; these included rough-legged buzzards, about 

 20 grey shrikes, long and short-eared owls, rooks, starlings, larks, 

 great numbers of blackbirds, ring-ousels, thrushes and red-wings, 

 stonechats, willow-wrens (very many), hedge-sparrows, woodcock 

 (first-flight), common and jack snipes ; also a few grey crows and field- 

 fare on 1 6th. The circumstances under which the sea passage was 

 made, on the three days, must have been very trying to the birds ; 

 a continuous heavy rain, with a strong easterly wind, and so thick 

 that a large steamboat, anchored a mile from the shore, was seldom 

 visible ; nights also pitchy dark. In fact the meteorological con- 

 ditions were such as to preclude any special advantages of guidance or 

 sight operating to the advantage of the migratory hosts pouring 

 helter-skelter on to the land. 



" The young birds," Mr. Dixon tells us, " are the greatest blun- 

 derers, the birds, which have practically no knowledge whatever of 

 the road, and have to depend entirely on the guidance of older birds. 

 That this is the case is abundantly proved by the fact that nearly all 

 the birds that accidentally wander to the British Islands from more 

 or less remote countries are birds of the year" (pp. 178-9). 



Although sufficient British statistics are yet wanting, we are 

 inclined to think that among our rarest visitors on migration — birds 

 which have lost their route or been driven over by stress of weather, 

 adults turn up nearly as frequently as the young of the year. \\ e 

 have now before us a list, kindly supplied b^ Mr. Gatke, of Heligo- 

 land, showing for the last fifty years all the rare captures actually 

 made on the island. Of 133 exceptional occurrences, belonging to 

 20 species whose home is Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Southern 

 Russia, Turkestan, &c., with few exceptions rare summer visitors to 

 the island, and occurring in May to the end of July, 122 were adult, 

 and II young. Of purely Eastern species, ranging as far as Kamts- 

 chatka, buntings and thrushes, occurring during September to the 

 end of November, 34 are old and 13 young. Of American visitors, 

 five have been old and two young. Of Otocorysalpestris, now a common 

 migrant in the autumn, two-thirds are old. Of Anthus richardii 

 and Phylloscopns supevciliosiis about one-half are old. 



Mr. Dixon is incHned to underrate the work done in Heligoland 

 by the veteran ornithologist Herr Gatke. It must be borne in mind 



