OCCASIONAL NOTES. 55 
occurrence of the species. Easterly and north-easterly gales succeeded one 
another for weeks and months in the autumn of 1880, and many interesting 
and curious results are observable in consequence of the movements of birds, 
as we hope to show elsewhere later. Whether these birds were Common 
Wheatears or not, the record is interesting. I regret that specimens were 
not procured. The arboreal habits and associating with Bullfinches would 
almost lead one to doubt the accuracy of the observer, were he not so well 
known as a competent local naturalist. I mention the facts as far as 
known, as I believe that, however valueless the record may be in itself— 
however impossible to ascertain now the exact species—still the fact of their 
“flying off northwards” is alone worth recording, after “staying a day or 
two in a young larch and Scotch fir wood,” showing pretty conclusively to 
my mind that they were not merely locally migrating, but were on their 
grand migration—and that going northwards—Joun A. Harviz-Brown 
(Dunipace House, Larbert, N.B.). 
[We think our correspondent lays too much stress upon these words. 
The direction in which a bird flies off often depends upon the direction in 
which it is approached. Again, most birds fly up into the wind in order to 
attain some elevation before taking any particular course. We are not told 
what the wind was on the day named. In the case above referred to, the 
birds were not seen ‘‘on passage” flying north, but were observed to stay 
about a plantation for a day or two. Under the circumstances we are 
inclined to think that they were simply stragglers which had overstayed 
the usual period of their sojourn in this country, either from some accident, 
or perhaps belonging to an unusually late brood. Upon this point 
Mr. Cordeaux furnishes the following note.-—Ep.] 
With regard to the late appearance of the Wheatear in Scotland, I may 
state that when at Spurn this autumn I observed a Whcatear on Kilnsea 
Common on October 26, and I saw a single bird of the species a few days 
previously in the Great Cotes marshes. Considering the immense number 
of Wheatears which, in company with Redstarts, visited our east coast, 
between the Farne Islands and Yarmouth, in the latter part of August and 
early in September, it is not surprising that some few should have lingered 
till a late period, more especially when we take into consideration that 
others of our migrants, notably the Swallow, had been very late in taking 
their final departure. With reference to the arboreal habits of these late 
Wheatears, as noted by Mr.J. A. Harvie Brown, they may, I think, not im- 
probably have belonged to that larger race which occasionally passes through 
our east coast districts in May, and again in the autumn in September and 
October. These, I have frequently noted, perch as readily on high trees, 
hedges and bushes as any other of the perching birds, and, in fact, are so 
very arboreal that they seem to prefer these situations to any other. An 
