EVEW5 



Report on the Immigrations of Summer Residents in the Spring 

 of 1908 : also Notes on the Migratory movements and 

 Records received from Lighthouses and Light-vessels during 

 the Autumn of 1907. By the Committee appointed by 

 the British Ornithologists' Club. (Forming Vol. XXIV., 

 Bull. B.O.C. Edited by W. R. Ogilvie-Grant.) 29 Maps. 

 Witherby & Co. 6s. 



The appearance of this the Fourth Report of the B.O.C. 

 Migration Committee, although not so punctual as that of the 

 birds of which it treats, will be welcomed by all those interested 

 in the subject. The Report takes the same form as the pre- 

 vious one, but an additional feature is the detailed account of 

 the observations recorded at the " Lights " during the autumn 

 of 1907. We may note that in reference to our criticisms of 

 the table of arrival areas in previous reports* the Committee 

 explain that it seemed to them of great importance to keep 

 the form of the Reports as uniform as possible. If the table 

 is really misleading, as we believe and as the Committee to 

 a certain extent agree, we cannot see that this explanation is 

 in any way a good one. In the present report, for instance, 

 the Ring-Ouzel is said (pages 10 and 11) to arrive solely on 

 the western half of the south coast and also on the south- 

 east coast. As both of these cannot he correct it is 

 explained that the earlier arrivals appeared first in the west 

 and later the birds arrived in the south-east, but that these 

 latter probably consisted of continental breeding birds. 

 But on turning to the account of the species (pages 41-44) 

 we find that for the last four years the Ring-Ouzel has 

 appeared first in Yorkshire, and there seems to be no 

 observation to show at what point these birds have entered 

 the country, unless the occurrence in Kent, on March 30th, 

 in this Report may be some indication of its entry through 

 the eastern side of the south coast 



The wintry weather of the spring of 1908 is not likely to 

 be forgotten, and that this had a considerable effect in 

 retarding the northward progress of the immigrants has 

 already been mentioned (see supra, page 232) and is borne out 

 by this Report. 



* For notices of the two previous Reports see Vol. I., p. 30, and 

 Vol. II., p. 247. 



