migrations of this clan of birds during their progress through 

 England, or to detect the first arrivals. However, as a general 

 rule the force of Herr Gatke's arguments may be readily admitted. 

 But if they are applicable to nearly all other districts, they should 

 certainly still more forcibly refer to Heligolander, for hardly a 

 single land-bird migrates there to breed. All of the vast hosts 

 passing are migrants pure and simple, and whether they call or 

 not, " Time gone by, birds gone by," as the Heligolanders say, 

 is of no consequence. The full significance of Herr Gatke's re- 

 marks will be realised, however, when we remember that it is 

 on data of this nature that he bases all his speculations on the 

 velocity of the migration flight, the breadth of its front, and the 

 identity of certain flocks of particular species which pass his 

 island, with colonies of breeding birds in the north, or wintering 

 residents in the south. As striking instances of this, the cases of 

 the Northern Bluethroat and Hooded Crow may be pointed out. 

 Herr Gatke closes his long and interesting chapter on 

 " Meteorological Conditions " with a lament on the smaller 

 number of birds now observed at his observatory than was 

 formerly the case. However, when we read of " tens of thousands 

 of Books," " thousands of Lapwings," " extraordinary many 

 Eedbreasts," " astonishing numbers of Wheatears and Chaf- 

 finches," " Bramblings and Linnets passing in uncountable 

 numbers the whole day," followed by " uncountable numbers " of 

 Lapwings, "extraordinary many" Snipes and Ringed Plovers, 

 and Hooded Crows, and so on ad libitum, in describing the 

 spring migration of 1885 ; not to speak of great flights of Snow 

 Buntings, Starlings, and Skylarks, with " Hooded Crows in 

 hundreds of thousands," and Chaffinches in " thousands upon 

 thousands," followed by " extraordinary many " Song Thrushes, 

 and Ring Ousels, in the autumn one cannot but feel that 

 Heligoland is still the most highly favoured spot on the earth for 

 the study of the wonderful phenomena of bird-migration. 



