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MIGRATION NOTES FROM BARDSEY ISLAND, 

 OCTOBER 1919. 



BY THE LATE 



F. W. HEADLEY, m.a., m.b.o.u. 



Prefatory Note. — Mr. Headley visited Bardsey Island for 

 the purpose of watching the autumn migration and of observ- 

 ing the effect of the lighthouse light as an attraction to birds 

 at night. He had already planned a voyage across the 

 Southern Hemisphere to investigate the flight of the Albatross, 

 and to observe birds in regions which he had never been able 

 to reach owing to the ties of his scholastic duties. The trip to 

 Bardsey was an interlude to fill up the time until a passage 

 could be secured. When Mr. Headley left for Bardsey he 

 was by no means well, and the cause of his illness had not 

 then been accurately diagnosed. It was thought that a month 

 on the island would do good, but unfortunately he was slowly 

 getting worse instead of better, and on his return he had almost 

 immediately to undergo a severe operation, from the effects 

 of which he never recovered. 



Mr. Headley always kept a notebook going, a miscellaneous 

 one, into which went notes on birds that he had seen on any 

 special occasion. It was certain that a special set of notes 

 would be kept for the Bardsey observations, though without 

 any definite intention of publishing them. Mr. Charles 

 Oldham suggested to me that these notes might contain 

 important additions to our knowledge on the migration of 

 birds across the island, and that an effort should be made 

 to obtain them for examination. I wrote to Mr. Headley 's 

 brother concerning the notebook, and he very kindly sent it 

 and gave me permission to make the best use that I could of it. 



The notes on the birds had been entered at the end of an 

 exercise book, originally devoted to lectures on Evolution. 

 They were in his usual style, very difficult to decipher in 

 places, and written down in no definite order at any odd 

 moment during the day. Fortunately I was familiar with 

 Mr. Headley's handwriting and his system of recording notes, 

 so that with a little patience the difficult passages could be 

 straightened out. After making a fair copy, I came to the 

 conclusion that to follow his system of note-taking and his 

 text, as closely as possible, was the best course for publication. 

 This would give a mass of facts which anyone could make 

 use of. So I have retained the diary form, and have simply 

 rearranged the notes for each day in a more systematic 



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