41 



THE WHEATEAR. 



Saxicola osnantlie (L.). 



The Wheatear arrived along the whole of the south coast, 

 the earliest record being from Sussex on the 14th of March, 

 while a straggler had reached Northumberland by the 21st. 

 Up to the 30th small numbers were arriving daily on the 

 south coast, but chiefly at the western end and passing 

 inland, the records from the lights pointing to a considerable 

 passage up the west coast, particularly during the closing 

 days of the month. During the same period a certain 

 number of birds had spread through Wales and the western 

 Midlands, while the few that had arrived at the eastern 

 extremity of the south coast had only penetrated the eastern 

 counties as far as Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and 

 Bedford. 



On the 31st of March a steady arrival of larger numbers 

 began and lasted without intermission until the 17th of April. 

 The birds arrived on the south coast from the Isle of Wight 

 eastwards up till the 2nd of April, and after that along the 

 whole coast, while up to the 5th a very considerable migration 

 was also passing through the Channel Islands. It is not 

 quite clear that these latter birds were on their way to our 

 shores, but it may be pointed out that the light-records from 

 those islands corresponded very closely as a whole with the 

 records from the coast of Hampshire. The birds that arrived 

 during this extensive movement seem for the most part to 

 have spread out, journeying northwards somewhat leisurely, 

 the northern counties being reached between the 14th and 

 17th ; it is probable, therefore, that these immigrants formed 

 a considerable proportion of the summer-residents of England 



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