272 Reccnlly pabUslied Ornitholoylcal Worka. 



Cuckoos' eggs, with which the author commences liis treatise, 

 contains a list of 225 specimens taken at Oslawan, with 

 ample particulars about each of them, such as the date, 

 foster-pareut, size, weight, and type of colouring. In 

 Moravia, it seems, the nest of the Robin is that mostly 

 selected by the Cuckoo for the deposit of its eggs. Out of 



273 instances in which Cuckoos' eggs or young were found, 

 92 belonged to Erithacus rubecida, but the Redstart {Ruticilla 

 phoenicurus) , with 88 cases, nearly rivals it. After these the 

 three species most selected by the Cuckoo are Lanius 

 coUurio (40 cases), Motacilla alba (11 cases), and Plujllo- 

 scopus sibilatrix (17 cases). In various tables which follow 

 are full details concerning the Cuckoos of Oslawan — their 

 numbers, the proportion of males to females, the times of 

 their arrival and departure, the length of the egg-laying 

 period (usually from 40 to 60 days), the size, form, colour, 

 and texture of the eggs ; and are accompanied by ample 

 explanations of all these and many other points. We can 

 safely commend this excellent essay to the attention of those 

 interested in the engrossing subject of the Cuckoo. 



38. Clarke {W. E.) on the Migration of Birds. 



[Bird Migration in Great Britain and Ireland. — Report of the Com- 

 mittee, consisting of Professor Newton (Chairman), Mr. John Cordeaux 

 (Secretary), Mr. John A. Harvie-Brown, Mr. R. M. Barrington, Mr. W. 

 Eagle Clarke, and Rev. E. P. Knubley, appointed for the purpose of 

 making a Digest of the Observations on the Migrations of Birds at Light- 

 houses and Light-vessels, 1880-1887. 8vo. British Association, 1896.] 



Although necessarily set forth as the Report of the above 

 Committee, the preparation of this admirable digest is the 

 work of Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, who has devoted several years 

 of arduous labour to putting into shape the material for this 

 little pamphlet of only 27 pages ! As it stands it is a marvel 

 of condensed facts, and some of these facts sweep away old 

 superstitions like cobwebs. It used to be supposed that the 

 east-to-west migration which affected Heligoland in autumn 

 would be in some degree continued to the British Islands, 

 and that a reflex movement would take place in spring ; but 



