104 



reached Heron Lake, Minn., and the first week in May was 

 reported from Argusville and Larimore, Dak. In south-eastern 

 Dakota it is very abundant during migration." A similar account 

 of the migration in the spring of 1885 then follows. 



It will be at once apparent that the species commences its 

 migrations long before the breeding grounds are ready for occu- 

 pation and moreover the journey so far from being performed in 

 one unbroken flight, is undertaken leisurely and in comparatively 

 short stages. Of course this throws very little light on the actual 

 speed at which the various stages are covered, but if this is the 

 character of the migration at the time when birds are said by 

 Herr Gatke to exhibit unrest and impelling haste — " Here we 

 nowhere meet with any attempts at dividing the long migration 

 flight into short convenient stages," he remarks (p. 4). — Would 

 it not, therefore, be safer to assume that the autumnal journey 

 is uncharacterised by one great unbroken flight from the breeding 

 grounds to the winter quarters in South America, but is per- 

 formed more leisurely and in shorter stages which do not necessi- 

 tate a speed of 212 miles an hour for their accomplishment 

 within a given theoretical time ? 



The Virginian Plover is not the only American species which 

 performs its spring migration in the foregoing manner. The 

 Pectoral, the White Eumped, Bairds', Least, and Semipalmated 

 Sandpipers ; and the Hudsonian, and Eskimo Curlews, may be 

 mentioned in addition. No doubt if it were possible to make 

 observations throughout the whole of Northern Africa similar 

 facts would be obtained relating to European birds. The un- 

 civilised condition of the greater part of the latter locality, 

 however, precludes the possibility of doing so at present. In 

 America conditions are happily different. 



In a later chapter (Exceptional Migration Phenomena) Herr 

 Gatke discusses the incident of examples of the American White- 

 winged Crossbill having been observed crossing the Atlantic in 

 a locality many miles from land. This occurrence may, perhaps, 

 throw some light on certain of his theories as to the length of time 

 a bird can remain on the wing without food, and in the meantime 

 maintain great muscular exertions. The account of this incident 

 as recorded by Professor Newton, in the last edition of Yarrell's 



