43 



THE REDSTART. 



JR'uticilla phoenicnrus (L.). 



The Redstart apparently began to arrive in small numbers 

 during the last week in Marcli and the first week o£ April 

 at different points on the south coast from Kent to Devon. 

 The birds seem to have passed quiekl}'" on, as by April 

 the 16th we find them recorded from many widely separated 

 localities throughout the country, the numbers being, if 

 anything, rather larger in the eastern counties than in the 

 western. By the 18th of April they had reached Yorkshire, 

 and were recorded from Westmoreland on the 19th. 



It was not until the 17th of April that any marked immi- 

 gration was noticed ; on that day a flight arrived in Sussex 

 and on the 18th one appeared in Hampshire, forming part 

 of a big immigratory wave that included thirteen different 

 species of birds, the greater number being Warblers of dif- 

 ferent kinds. 



This immigration was continued into Hampshire on April the 

 20th and 22nd, into Sussex on the 23rd, and again into Hamp- 

 shire on the 25th. These flights were, however, moderate as 

 regards numbers when compared with the one on the 18th. 



A few of the earlier arrivals seem to have scattered over 

 the southern counties, but the main body appears to have 

 distributed itself over the northern counties of England and 

 perhaps over Scotland, for after the arrival of this exten- 

 sive movement the number of birds reported from these 

 localities was larger than that from the southern counties. 



The second immigration probably occurred along the whole 

 of the south coast, but was only recorded from Hants and 

 Devon between 1.0 a.m. and 3 a.m. on the morning of 

 April the 30th. 



The birds seem to have passed rapidly north, the western 



