130 



commoucGd on April the 13th will be sufficient to illustrate 

 the mode of arrival. 



On the 13th and 14th the first immigration reached Corn- 

 wall and Des^on, and was followed on the 15th by lighthouse 

 records from Hants and Sussex, accompanied by a slight 

 increase in Kent and a decrease in Somerset and Wilts, and 

 a further increase in Kent on the following day. On April 

 the 17th an increase was noted from Essex, Worcester, 

 Staffordshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshira, with a 

 decrease in Surrey and Berks. On the 18th there was 

 a further increase in (.^ornwall and a decrease in Hants 

 followed by another increase in Hants and Kent on the 19th 

 and 20th. 



On April the 21st there was a great increase in Cornwall, 

 Devon, Hants and Sussex, but a decrease in Berks and Surrey, 

 while on the following day an increase was evident in Kent, 

 Somerset, Surrey, Bucks, Bedford, Suffolk, Cambridge, 

 Shropshire, Cheshire and Yorkshire, and a decrease in Corn- 

 wall, Devon, Hants, Sussex and Wilts. These dates show 

 very clearly how each wave passed onwards, making way for 

 others to succeed it. On April the 24th a fresh immi- 

 gration was noted in Cornwall, Somerset and Wilts, and the 

 following day Swallows were seen to arrive at the Kent 

 lights and there was an increase in Sussex and Dorset, but a 

 decrease in Devon and Somerset. 



Until the 8th of May, by which time the birds had 

 settled down in most parts of the country and had begun 

 nesting-operations, there was practically no break in the 

 immigrations. During the latter half of the month fresh 

 contingents still continued to arrive, though it became more 

 difficult to trace their course; the main bodies landed on the 

 south-western seaboard counties on the 10th and 11th, 20th 

 and 24th. Late records were sent in from the Varne light- 

 vessel off Kent, between the 20th of May and the 10th of 

 June, and it seems probable that these referred to emiffratino- 

 birds, more especially as previous to May the 20th they were 

 only noted at this light on two occasions, viz. the 2jth of 

 April and the 5th of May. 



