ON TIIK MIGUATION OF HIItDS. 



269 



poar (1. niul tlio same scarcity is observable in tlic I ffligoland returns. 

 Cm ioiisly onouf^h, the liedge-sparrosv (Acccntar lu/jiliihiris), wliicli mijifrated 

 in iiiiiiicnsi! iiiimbors in tbc siinie autumn, lias been almost entirely al)sent. 

 About lialf !i dozen are recorded at Heligoland, none on tlio east roast of 

 Kii;j:Ian(l. 



Of the enormous iiunut^ration wliieb crosses our cast coast in the 

 autuuni, either to ^v inter in these islands ov merely on passage across 

 them, a small proportion oidy appear io return by the sanm routes. 

 Spring returns from liglitliouses and liglitvcssels slt'nv birds then move 

 on the same lines as in the autumn, but in the reverse direction. These 

 return travellers do not, however, represent anything like a tithe of the 

 visible immigrants which, week after week and monlli by month in the 

 autumn, move in one broad stream on to tlie east coast. 



\Vhat is called the 'tirst flight' of the woodcock arrived on the York- 

 shire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk coasts on the night of (Jetober 21st. The 

 'trrcat flii'ht,' or rush, ■which covered the whole of the east coast from 

 tlic Fame islands to Yarmouth was on the nights of the 2cSth and 2i)th. 

 These two periods correlate with the principal flights of woodcock across 

 Heliu'oland. 



Ibit few woodcock w{>ro recorded from stations on the cast coast of 

 Scotland, although at the l»ell Rock lighthouse, on the night from October 

 ;jlst to November 1st, Mr. Jack reports an enormous rush of various 

 species, commencing at 7 r.M. Immense numbers were killed, pitching 

 iuto the sea. ' Wliat we thought were woodcocks struck with great force ; 

 birds contiimed flying within the influence of the rays of light till tho 

 first streak of day, continually striking hard all night ; we believe a great 

 number of woodcocks struck and fell into tlic sea.' 



!Mr. Harvie-Brown records a very great spring migration of wood- 

 cocks which appear to have crossed Scotland between the Clyde and the 

 Forth on March Or,h, 10th, lltb, and 12th, 188k These were observed to 

 bo the small red Scandinavian bird, whicb are quite tinmistakable and 

 distinct from British-bred birds. 



The occurrence of LdcasfeJId Jluvial il is at the Stevns lighthouse at the 

 entrance of the Orcsund in Zealand is interesting, as it is the first recorded 

 Danish exam])le of this species. 



Altogether there has been a very marked absence on our British coasts 

 of niro and casual visitants. Tho roller (Curacius (/(irrula) occurred in 

 October in two localities — one in Lincolnshire, the other in Suflblk. 



Two c.xamjdes of the sooty shearwater (I'lilfhius grit^eun) were obtained 

 in Bridlington Bay about the end of September. The island of Heli- 

 goland retains its pre-eminence as the casual resting-place of rare 

 wiindcrers from other lands ; and Mr. Giitke's list for 1883 includes 

 Tnrduti vitrin<, rnifutcola rnhicola, var. indicn, Fhijlluscopus snpercilii)sus, 

 Ilijpoltis palliihi, Motacilla citreuht, Antlni^ cerviinis, A. JiicharJi, Orivlns 

 jalbnla, Lduins iiutjor, ]\[n<ci(:apit jhtrvtt, Linola exilipes, Emheriza mclano- 

 ccphdlii, E. clrlu-i, J'l. ru!<ficii, E. jm.nlla, Fustcir roscud, and Xema Sahinii. 



It is well known that largo numbers of European birds, presumably 

 driven out of their course, are seen, during the autumn migration, far out 

 over the Atlantic, alighting on the ocean-fjoing steamers. It is proposed 

 by Mr. Harvie-Brown to sujiply schedules to the principal lines of oceaa 

 steam-vessels for tbc better recording of these occurrences. It must be 

 borne in mind that the immense and constantly-increasing traffic, which 

 in these days bridges the Atlantic and unites the Old and New Worlds, 



