50 BRITISH BIRDS. 



morning, was nevertheless a well marked one, and one 

 which, occurring as it did with moderate regularity, must 

 I think be put down as a feature of the daily routine and 

 not merely as the influx of certain individuals which had 

 become separated from the main body and had arrived 

 abnormally late in consequence. Species noticed as 

 taking part in this movement were Redstart, Nightingale, 

 Willow-Wren, White Wagtail, Short-toed Lark, Sky-Lark, 

 Nightjar, Corn-Crake and Water-Rail, besides some small 

 unidentified species, and some Limicolce. 



Departures were more difficult to observe, but I 

 concluded that they took place at dusk from the following 

 facts : — The birds generally got more lively and were to be 

 found feeding and moving about restlessly towards 

 sunset after a decided period of torpor during the 

 afternoon ; large parties of birds were seen beginning 

 to move southwards about the same hour ; and on ' ' off- 

 migration " mornings, succeeding days that had brought 

 plenty of birds, there were hardly any to be found. 



As I have said, there was scarcely a species that did 

 not present exceptions to the above generalization, and 

 these exceptions may doubtless be put down to in- 

 dividuals on the "sick list" requiring longer than a 

 day's rest to recoup themselves. 



One thing, however, impressed me as being an 

 undoubted fact, viz., that taking it as a whole, the 

 successive arrival, resting, feeding and moving on, was a 

 performance that recurred every twenty-four hours at a 

 greater or less intensity throughout the whole season of 

 true passage, and I cannot but think that the statement 

 of certain writers on migration that birds dawdle about 

 and quietly moult on their autumn migration, though it 

 may no doubt be true for places perhaps more remote 

 from their breeding quarters, is not the case at Port Said, 

 which is comparatively close to their breeding quarters. 



Although at night time I watched several times with 

 glasses for birds crossing the face of the moon, I never 

 saw any, and the only instances I can quote of migrating 



