INTRODUCTION. 23 
poor in stragglers, for it lies east of the lesser fly-line 
which passes down the west coast of Great Britain and 
crosses the Irish Sea from Wigtonshire to Anglesea vid 
the Isle of Man. In migratory movements observed at 
the Dee Lightship the route taken by the passing 
birds was N.E. or S.W., from which it will be seen that 
migrants travelling along the western coast of England 
would pass from the Lancashire to the Welsh shores, or 
vice versd, without touching Cheshire. Large flocks, 
however, of certain species, such as the Oyster-catcher, 
Dunlin, Curlew, and Ringed Plover, attracted by the 
supply of food on the sandbanks and marshes, often 
visit the estuaries and remain with us for a short 
period. The Snow Bunting, Little Stint, and Curlew 
Sandpiper have seldom been observed in Cheshire, 
whilst the Shore Lark, Lapland Bunting, and Mealy 
Redpoll—all more or less common on the east coast— 
are quite unknown. In the memorable invasion of the 
Little Auk which took place during the winter of 
1895-96, thousands of birds were observed in the eastern 
counties, but, so far as we have been able to ascertain, 
only a single individual was obtained in Cheshire. 
Ornithology has found but few votaries among 
Cheshire naturalists, and it is of course possible that, 
owing to a lack of competent observers, small birds 
such as the Fire-crested Wren, the Barred and Yellow- 
browed Warblers, and some of the soberly plumaged 
Waders and Pipits, have escaped notice. There can, 
however, be little doubt that the geographical position 
of the county is the primary reason for its meagre 
avifauna; for if we consider a group of large and 
conspicuous birds, such as the Herodiones, we find 
that several species, which have occurred more or less 
frequently in more favoured localities, are unknown in 
