114 



Mr. D. A. Banucrman on the 



[Ibis, 



tlie following year. It may in certain years arrive earlier in 

 the islands and remain during the winter, but dates are 

 wanting to prove this. 



The followino- are a few records with dates : — 



Exceedingly nnmorous in the winter. (Meade- 



. Waldo,"lbi.sl8l):5, p. 190.) 

 One seen early in the nioiith. lias Palnias, Gran 



Canaria. (Bannerman, Ibis, 1912, p. G07.) 

 Two seen. Las Palmas, Gran Canaiia. (IJann.,- 



Ibis, 1912, p. 007.) 

 Solitary pairs appeared durinj;; the whole month. 



Fuerteventnra. (von Thanner, Orn. .Tahrb 



1910, p. 229.) 

 One bird seen. Gran Canaria. (Bann., Ibis, 



1912, p. 607.) 

 One bird seen in the middle of the nuinth. Gran 



Canaria. (Bann,, Ibis, 1912, p. 607.) 

 A pair seen later in the month. Gran Canaria. 



(Bann., Ibis, 1912, p. 007.) 

 One bird siiot. Tiiineje, Fuerteventnra. (Meade- 

 Waldo, Ibis, 1889, p. 509.) 

 Seen frequently. Fuerteventura. (von Thanner, 



Orn. Jahrb. 1905, p. 05.) 



Von llianner considered it a I'cgular ]5ird o£ Passage as 

 early as 1904 (Nov. Zoo I. xi. p. 431 ) . According to Polatzek 

 it visits all the islands in wintei', but by " winter'^ he may 

 mean January and February (Orn. Jalub. 1909, p. 126). 



It is noteworthy that in the winters of 1890 and 1891, 

 vvhi(;h years were quite phenomenal as regards migration, the 

 White Wagtail was "exceedingly numerous^' (Ibis, 1893, 

 p. 190). It certainly can never be called rmmerous at the 

 present day, and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen 

 together. This does not point to a regular stream of 

 migrants passing through the islands regularly, and it would 

 certainly appear that the birds do not usually touch the 

 Archipelago in their autumn journey to their winter 

 quarters. 



Range. Motacilla a. alba is distributed in summer through- 

 out the greater part of Europe and winters in Africa, 

 extending as far south as the Equator on the east coast and, 



