fTHE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 475 



atmosphere, which offer them more favourable currents, and other 

 conditions necessary for their purpose. 



The Dotterel appears to be very partial to warmth, for it rarely 

 appears before May, and even then only on fine calm days. In 

 1884 and 1885 it was very abundant during the spring migration : 

 among other instances, I have recorded fifteen individuals for the 

 21st of May of the latter year ; stragglers are often met with during 

 the first week of June. The earliest arrivals are invariably males, 

 being very easily recognised by their plumage, which is less brightly 

 coloured than that of the females. The females have the crown of 

 the head of a pure and deep black colour, margined on each side by 

 clear broad bands of brilliant pure white ; these bands extend in a 

 most ornamental manner over the eyes and downwards to the 

 nape of the neck, where the black colour of the top of the head 

 terminates in undiminished intensity in a point. In the male the 

 top of the head is not black, but pale dark brown, all the feathers 

 being broadly edged with buff colour (rost-gelb). The eye-streak is 

 pure white, but more or less deeply tinged with dull buff colour ; 

 the upper part of the breast is less pure rust-coloured, and the 

 belly is dull brownish black rather than pure black ; all the feathers 

 of the back, as well as those of the long posterior flight-feathers, are 

 very broadly edged with a beautiful buff' colour, almost, in fact, 

 brown orange (rost-orange). In old females these buff-coloured 

 edges are very narrow, and disappear entirely higher up upon 

 the back. 



During the last few years, young birds of the year have occurred 

 more numerously during the autumn passage than was the case 

 formerly. Still their occurrence cannot be relied on with as much 

 certainty as can that of the old birds in spring, provided the 

 weather be favourable at the latter season. The year 1882, how- 

 ever, furnished a striking exception to this statement, for on 

 the 22nd of August of that year an extraordinarily large num- 

 ber migrated past, although westerly winds and rain were pre- 

 vailing at the time; on the 4th of September, the weather 

 having meanwhile become fine, with very light north-east winds 

 and calms, so many of these birds travelled over and past the 

 island, that one of the flights lasted for more than five minutes 

 a phenomenon which has not been observed either before or since. 



The breeding range of the Dotterel extends through almost the 

 whole of northern Europe and Asia. Its nests are met with from 

 the mountains of the Scottish Highlands to the North Cape in 

 Norway. Von Heuglin met with it in Nova Zeinbla ; Seebohm on 

 the Jenesei in lat. 71 N. ; von Middendorff in the Taimyr Peninsula, 

 to beyond 73 N. lat. ; and Nordenskjold obtained it close to 



