ILE D'OUESSANT AS AN ORNITH. STATION. 311 



rinellus^ Vanellus cristatiis, Strepsilas interpres, Calidrls 

 arenaria^ Totamis hijpoleums, T. calidris, Numenius ar- 

 qiiatus^ N. phaeopus^ Sterna macrura, S. ßiiviatilis, S. 

 minuta, S. cantiaca, Puffinm anylorum and P. g^^avis 

 (= major). 



The foUowing are, perhaps, best regarded as Winter 

 Visito?'s tö Oiiessant : Phalacrocoi^ax carbo, P. graculus, 

 Strepsilas inlerpres (also a bird of passage) Hsematopiis 

 ostralegiis (ditto), Larus canus^ L. argentatus, L. ftiscits, 

 L. marinus, and Rissa trldactyla. Alcedo ispida was also 

 abundant all round the Island, obtaining its food in the 

 crystal clear waters that lave its clitfs : perhaps it, too, is 

 a winter bird, arriving at the end of summer. 



No sea-fowl breed on the cliffs, rocks, or islets aronnd 

 Ouessant; while the absence of shores, whereon to feed, 

 accounts for the absence of many species of Limicolse, such 

 as we had Seen at LeConquet; and in this latter respect 

 Ouessant resembles Heligoland. 



1 took with me to Ouessant a carefully prepared series 

 of questions relating to the migration of birds. I left a 

 copy of these with the Gardien chef of each of the 

 Ligiithouses — the Phare du Stif, and the Phare de Creach 

 — and was fortunate enough to obtain from those obliging 

 observers two most excellent reports. 



From these we learn that the Isle is annually visited 

 of vast numbers of birds of passage and others. That on 

 dark starless nights, with an easterly wind, in autunin, 

 from 500 to (iOO birds dash themselves to death against 

 the lantern at Creach, fewer at Stif. On otie night in 

 the autumn of 1888, no less that 1 oOO migrants perished 

 miserably at the lantern of the Phare de Creach, an 

 extraordinary number, but the correctness of the State- 

 ments is vouched for of the Engineer to the Ponts et 

 Chaussees. 



The greatest number of migrants appear in october ; 

 and the following are the species which have come 

 imder the notice of these observers : Corneilles, Etour- 

 neaux, Pinsons, Tarins, Linots, Moineaux, Char<lonnerets, 



