164 



BIRD MIGRATION. 



(plate XII.) 

 H. H. BOOTH. 



A REPORT recently issued by the Mitiration Committee of the 

 British Ornitholoi^ists' Club* is an earnest attempt to trace the 

 arrival and dispersal of our sprin^,'- mii^ratory and immig-ratory 

 birds. The members of the British Ornithologists' Union and 

 other competent ornitholog^ists throug-hout Eng-land and Wales, 

 were supplied with specially prepared schedules for each week 

 during- the time of the vernal migrations. By the kind per- 

 mission of the Master and Elder Brethren of the Trinity 

 House, the keepers of the lig-hthouses and lightships on the 

 south and east coasts of Eng-land were allowed to fill in 

 schedules and to forward the wings of birds killed at their 

 lanterns. By this arrangement the birds were properly 

 identified, and, as might be expected, the correct names were 

 in marked contrast to those filled in by the lightkeepers, 

 who described most species either as Wrens or Flycatchers. 

 The work is intended to suppleiiient the work done b\- the 

 British Association Migration Committee (so ably classified and 

 edited by the President of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, 

 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke), so far as the arrival and settling down 

 ot the summer migrants is concerned. The British Association 

 Committee relied almost entirely on the reports of the light- 

 keepers for a number of years, not having had any land 

 observers. In the present case the number of observers was 

 172, who returned 738 schedules; and the keepers of 31 lights 

 returned reports and wings. The total number of separate 

 records reached 15,000. In tabulating the returns the Com- 

 mittee has endeavoured to trace w-here the birds first entered 

 the country ; the number of separate immigrations of each 

 .species ; the dispersal and settling down of the various batches 

 for nesting purposes ; and the passing forward of the remainder. 

 In many cases they have disregarded the records of the very 

 early stragglers, or other apparently abnormal arrivals, with the 

 object of discovering the general trend of the immigrants. A 

 map is devoted to almost every one of the twenty-nine species 

 imder obserxation, while the immigrations and dispersal of the 



* Report oil llu' Iininijj;-i-ations of tlio Suininer Rosiilcnls in the Spriiij;- of 

 1905, by (he Mij^r.itioii Committee of tlic British ()riiitlioloi>fist,s' Club. 

 Edited by W. R. Og-ilvie-Craiit. W'ilhciby <Sc Co., I.oiidoii. 127 pp. and 

 T,2 maps. 6s. net. (paper covei). 



Naturalist, 



