130 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke — Bird-migration 



nature of their lights, the rays never become sufficiently 

 conspicuous to prove attractive. When the Galloper Light- 

 ship had white lights great numbers of birds were allured 

 to its lanterns, but now that the light is red bird-visitors are 

 unknown. If the birds were lost why should they seek a 

 white light and avoid one that is red or green ? That the 

 migrants may and do become confused and finally lost after 

 the excitement and fatigue occasioned by their attendance 

 upon the lantern I can well believe. 



There is, however, one very remarkable fact concerning 

 these visitors to the lights to which 1 have never seen any al- 

 lusion made, namely, that they are practically all Passerines ! 

 I have seen tens of thousands of migrants around the 

 Lanterns of the Eddystone and Kentish Knock stations, and 

 all were Passerines except two, namely, a Storm-Petrel and 

 a Kestrel*. And yet I have heard Waders and other birds 

 passing during these stirring nights at the lantern, though 

 beyond giving tongue they passed by unconcerned and 

 invisible. How are we to account for this? Assuming 

 that the migrants were lost on these occasions, why should 

 Piisseres go astray and the Limicola? pursue their course? 

 Or, as I should prefer to put it, why should the Passeres be 

 allured to the light and not the Limicolae ? Can it be 

 because the former — the most specialized of birds — are ren- 

 dered by reason of their higher organization more susceptible 

 to the mysterious influence of the light ? I merely throw 

 out this suggestion as a possible explanation. I know of 

 no other. 



As to the meteorological aspects of the migration-pheno 

 mena witnessed at the Kentish Knock, not much remains 

 to be said, for frequent allusions have already been made to 

 them when treating of particular movements. In dealing 

 with this section of the subject, I have consulted a set of 

 the " Daily Weather Reports," issued by the Meteorological 



* This is also borne out by the migration statistics from 1880 to the 

 present year. Birds of other orders do appear, but their visits are few 

 I far Viet ween. 



