On Migration. 553 



The dates assigned above, upon which the arrival of our 

 commoner migrants may be expected in Wiltshire, will perhaps 

 appear to some to be generally full late ; but whether it is that 

 Wiltshire is colder than most counties, and our migrants in con- 

 sequence defer their arrival here later than elsewhere, which I 

 do not apprehend to be the case ; or whether, as I suspect, 

 exceptionally early dates of first appearance are oftentimes alone 

 remembered by superficial observers, and the ordinary times of 

 arrival are passed by without notice, is a fair subject for inquiry ; 

 but I venture to insist that the only way to insure a correct 

 estimate on this point is by registering dates of arrival with as 

 great accuracy as possible, and comparing such registers after a 

 long series of years. Figures and dates and statistics may be 

 dull, tedious, and prosaic, but in this case they alone will give a 

 true verdict, and enable us to arrive at a right conclusion. 

 The whole question of migration is indeed an exceedingly diffi- 

 cult one ; but great light has been thrown upon it within the 

 last few years through the exertions of a select band of ornitho- 

 logists, deputed by the British Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, to institute inquiries ; and this has now, for several 

 years past, been systematically pursued, not only by the personal 

 observations of men of science specially qualified for the task, 

 but also by enlisting the assistance of those in charge of the 

 lighthouses and lightships, who enjoy extraordinary opportunities 

 of witnessing the migrations of birds. It is, indeed, quite 

 surprising what vast numbers of birds on migration commit 

 involuntary suicide, by dashing themselves against the light- 

 houses, round which vast flocks will occasionally flutter, like 

 moths round a candle, apparently lost in the darkness and 

 unable to tear themselves from the fatal light. To those who 

 are interested in the subject I commend these British Associa- 

 tion Reports on Migration, eight of which have now been 

 published since the Committee began its work; and I would 

 also call attention to a work on ' Bird Migration/ by Mr. William 

 Brewster, President of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, and pub- 

 lished in the Memoirs of that Club in the United States of America. 



