2 BRITISH BIRDS. 



it may be regarded as a summary of the views held on 

 the general aspects of the subject by one of the best- 

 known and most respected of our American confreres — 

 views which are, we believe, in harmony with those held 

 in general by American ornithologists. In a future 

 number will commence a series of articles by Commander 

 H. Lynes on some aspects of the migration of birds in the 

 Mediterranean. Commander Lynes has made excellent 

 use of exceptional opportunities for the study of 

 migration during three years in this region, and his 

 observations on the direction, manner, speed, and altitude 

 of the flight and on the habits of migrating birds are 

 most valuable. 



The device of marking birds, as an aid to the study of 

 migration, is an excellent one, and promises to yield a 

 rich harvest of facts — if properly carried out. We 

 venture to express a hope therefore that the British 

 Birds marking scheme, described in this number, will 

 receive the hearty approval and co-operation of our 

 readers. In organizing this scheme we have been 

 fortunate in securing the aid of Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, 

 whose experience in this work is considerable. At 

 present our continental brethren are ahead of us in this 

 field, but we hope that British ornithologists will not 

 long remain laggards in this matter. 



In yet another direction we desire to obtain the help 

 of our readers. We are anxious to begin a systematic 

 inquiry into the exact distribution throughout our 

 islands of certain species whose range at the present time 

 is but imperfectly known. The Nightingale may serve 

 as a case in point, and two of us — Jourdain and Ticehurst 

 — have undertaken to collect information with a view to 

 defining its range so far as at present known. Their 

 work will, we trust, be supplemented by the observations 

 of our readers, and we beg that, to this end, they will 

 take careful notes as to the status of this bird in their 

 several districts. 



As has been pointed out by a number of eminent 



