26 



Northern Europe, he next cahnly assigns them a winter home in 

 the comparatively tiny area of the mountain regions of France 

 and Spain. 



Suppose for the moment we admit that Herr Gatke is correct 

 in assuming an eastern origin of these large flights of Shore Larks, 

 and we also try to trace their further westerly flight after passing 

 Heligoland. We shall find, as far as Great Britain is concerned, 

 that not until the period between the years 1860 and 1870, or 

 ten or twelve year after the first considerable numbers were 

 observed at the former locality, that flocks of any importance (say 

 comprising fifteen to twenty birds) were observed on the east 

 coast of England, though the species, in the meantime, since its 

 first occurrence, was yearly passing Heligoland in ever-increasing 

 abundance. It will at once be apparent that, as in the case of the 

 Hooded Crow and Honey Buzzard, though more markedly in the 

 present and latter species, that only an insignificant proportion 

 ci'oss the North Sea, as indeed is the case at the present day. 

 If the facts were otherwise, they could hardly fail to come under 

 observation, and it is only evading the difficulty to suppose that 

 these individuals suddenly alter the altitude of their flight and 

 pass over at a great elevation (see p. 367). Larks, as a rule, on 

 migration, as Herr Gatke himself tells us, fly comparatively low, 

 and we may take it for granted that this is especially the case 

 in passing over large areas of land. Even if these Shore Larks 

 really increased the altitude of their flight in travelling across 

 England, we should expect them at times to meet with adverse 

 meteorological conditions, and on such occasions we might 

 reasonably look for many stragglers or even small flocks in 

 inland localities. But up to the present time this species has 

 been a bird of the rarest occurrence in the latter country away 

 from the coast. 



The evidence of other observers quoted by Herr Gatke 

 (pp. 32, 366) does not lessen the difficulty of accepting the 

 theory of an east-to-west migratory flight on the part of the 

 Shore Lark. He writes: — " These birds arrive in East Finmark 

 from the east and are consequently known there under the name 

 of Eussian Snow-Buntings. Collett says (see Dresser IV.) that 

 they travel from Norway east, and thence down through 



