( 173 ) 



NOTES ON THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS OVER 

 THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. 



BY 



C. SUFFERN. 



The following notes were made at different times over a 

 period of one and a half years in the Mediterranean. Un- 

 fortunately, when I first got out there the spring migration 

 of 1916 was just over ; the only movement of "land "-birds 

 seen at sea was that of thirteen Swifts flying southwards 

 north of Cape Bon, on July 17th. 



I had spent the previous year in the North Sea, and on 

 my coming to the Mediterranean the scarcity of sea-birds 



was in striking contrast to the hundreds of birds seen up 

 north. Gulls were few and far between when we were at 

 sea. There were a few at Malta, and we could always count 

 on meeting a good number as we approached Port Said. 

 On the other hand. Petrels were almost always with us from 

 the moment we put to sea until our return to harbour. 

 They first began to follow in our wake on May 27th off 

 Portugal on our way out from Falmouth to Gibraltar. 

 To return to the subject of this article, the first sign of autumn 

 migration in 1916 was a Turtle-Dove {Streptopelia t. turtur), 

 which came on board near Linosa on September 7th. By 

 September i8th migration had set in properly, and I made 

 observations until October 4th. For the rest of the month, 

 unfortunately, I was either in hospital or on sick leave, and 



