75 



THE CHIFFCHAFF. 



I'lujUowopv. cup 



The Ohiffchaff arrived along the /.hole of the south co 

 but mainly on the western balft 



A number appear to have spent the winter in I 

 and were recorded from widely separated localities in 

 January, February, and the early part of March. Some 

 early migrants may have arrived daring the first ten i 

 of March, but owing to the presence of the winter-residents 

 referred to it. was not possible to be certain. Chiffchaff's, 

 liowever, occurred at the lights in the Channel [slands and 

 the fsle of Weight on the night of the L2th, and it. is there- 

 fore safer fco date the commencement of the spring-migration 

 from these certain records. 'Jl) f ; first immigration seems to 

 have been confined to the western balfofthe south coasi : 

 to have la ted from the L3th to the L5th ; it, was followed by 

 a supplementary eastern invasion on the 19th, The birds 

 comprising these two movements seem to have scattered 

 over the southern half of the country, from Suffolk in the 

 east to Pembrokeshire in the west. 



After the L9th of March a series of small immigrations 

 arrived at intervals of a day or two, viz., on the 22nd, 25th 

 and 28th, at different pointson the south coast between Devon- 

 shire and Sussex. Tlie.se were followed by a more extensive 

 movement on the 30th, when considerable numbers arrived 

 on the whole length of thai coast. Small immigrations took 

 place at various [joints during the next seven days, but the 

 advance northwards seems to have been rather slow, mainly 

 perhaps because the number of birds in the country was 

 small. It was not until the arrival of the large migration 



w2 



