410 REPORT— 1900. 



The immigrants continue to arrive on the English shores of the 

 Channel until late in April, and in certain seasons have been observed in 

 numbers on the west coast of Cornwall as late as the first half of May. 



On arrival on our southern seaboard the birds, which are most 

 abundant on the westerii section of that coastline, usually tarry for some 

 little time before resuming their journeys. In due course, however, they 

 pass inland or northwards along both the east and west coasts, especially 

 the latter. 



Spring Passage. — During March there are few records of the White 

 Wagtail's appearance on either the east or west coast of Great Britain. 

 With April, however, the regular passage northwards sets in, and continues 

 until about the middle of May ' — not beyond, so far as regular passage is 

 concerned. 



On the west coast we are able to trace the birds from Cornwall along 

 the Welsh coast to the Solway and Clyde areas, and occasionally north- 

 wards to West Ross. ' AYagtails ' are, however, observed regularly on 

 passage at Cape Wrath, the N.W. limit of the mainland of Scotland, 

 down to the middle of May. I have little doubt that these recoi'ds 

 relate to this species. Passing thence to the western islands, we pick up 

 the lines of flight first at the important rock station of Skerryvore, and 

 then at the Hebrides, in whose outer and inner islands, or certain of them, 

 it is a bird of double passage. Here it has been observed at Barra, 

 Monach, Lewis, Tiree, and Coll. At Barra (a southern island of the outer 

 group) and at Tiree (one of the inner isles) it is quite common on passage 

 in both spring and autumn ; and from these stations we have during late 

 years been furnished with a valuable set of observations, and have 

 examined many Hebridean specimens obtained on both islands at each of 

 the seasons. - 



At the Monach Isle, with the exception of St. Kilda, the most western 

 of the Hebrides, the White Wagtail is recorded as occurring not unfre- 

 quently during April and early May. 



Intimately connected, no doubt, with these far western British move- 

 ments are those observed in Ireland. Here, however, our present know- 

 ledge is only of a fragmentary nature, for the few observations made in 

 the sister isle all relate to the coast and isles of a single county, namely. 

 Mayo, where the White Wagtail has been occasionally seen on passage 

 during April and early May.'* 



It is stranife that there is not a sinsle instance on record of the White 

 Wagtail's occurrence on the east coast of Ireland, though I can scarcely 

 bring myself to believe that the bird does not occur there on its migratory 

 journeys. 



Passing to the east coast of Great Britain, we find little or no infor- 

 mation for its southern section, not even for that county which has 

 always been remarkable for ornithological research and for its able 

 ornithologists, namely, Norfolk. Here it appears to have occurred merely 

 on two or three occasions, and in the springtime only. 



' At the island of Tiree, Inner Hebrides, it has been observed passing north in 

 considerable numbers as late as May 15. 



" The following are the spring records for Tiree kindly furnished to Mr. Harvie- 

 Brown and myself" by Mr. Peter Anderson: 1893, April 7 and May 1 ; 1894, April 7, 

 12, and 30 ; 1895, May 8 and 5 ; 1896, April 23 and 24 ; 1897, April 28 and 30 and 

 May 1 and 4 to 8 ; 1898, April 19 and 26 ; 1899, May 3 and 15 (many). 



^ The most important of these Irish movements was witnessed passing along the 

 shores of Killala Bay early in May, 1898 (Saunders, Bnll. Brit. Orn. Club, vii. p. 58). 



