THE ZOOLOGIST—JANUARY, 1876. A751 
Migration of Swallows and Martins. 
By Captain H. HapDFtELp. 
OBSERVATIONS carried on during the last ten years convince 
me that I was right in remarking, in December, 1865 :—‘‘1 must 
nevertheless say, after an experience of many years, that I have 
come to the conclusion that the first migration of both species 
takes place in September”— not October, as is generally sup- 
posed. 
There are, it appears, three distinct migratory flights; the first 
about the middle of September, made up of both old birds and 
young, chiefly, I believe, from the northern counties and Scotland 
the nights being then cold and sometimes frosty; once on the 
move many cross the Channel, as was observed on the 15th of 
September last. The second flight, as is well known, takes place 
early in October. The third, or November flight, is that of the 
late broods, together with the old or parent birds, whose migration 
has been retarded by the care of their young. However, a solitary 
swallow or martin may, of a mild season, be met with in December; 
for instance, their occurrence here between the Ist and 10th of the 
month has been three or four times recorded in the ‘ Zoologist.’ 
In order to prove that late broods cannot migrate with the rest, 
I have only to remark that I have found them in the nest as late as 
the end of September. 
With regard to the migration of the swallow tribe in general, 
little dependence is to be placed upon the observations of casual 
observers, not one in twenty of whom know a swallow from a 
martin, and often mistake—as I have had occasion to point out— 
a starling for a swallow. Though we all know the swallow appears, 
in the South of England, the first or second week in April, and the 
martin a few days later, it does not follow that I, you or they see 
them on their arrival, as they generally come singly, or by twos 
and threes at the most. So the question resolves itself into this— 
Who is the best observer? For instance, I find, on referring to 
my notes for 1839, that no swallows were seen till the 21st of 
April; but I have no doubt they would have been met with several 
days sooner had I been on the look out. 
Though I have heard of swallows being seen earlier, I never 
met with one before the 2nd of April or later than the 9th of 
