History 23 
this species has advanced its nesting stations throughout the 
whole of northern Asia and Europe as far as Scandinavia, and 
there is no doubt that it will next establish itself in the north 
of Scotland; there might then result the most interesting fact 
of some of these birds flying across the Atlantic back to their 
original home as exceptional visitors . . . . This species must 
have displayed, even from its origin, a strong inclination for 
a westerly autumn migration, for otherwise it could never have 
got across into Asia and finally to Lapland and Finmark.’’ 
The above assumed extension of range is argued against at 
length by Naumann who twits Gatke for his notions as follows: 
‘‘Anzunehmen, das die Art vor ihrer Entdeckung als Brutvogel 
in Lapland nicht dort genistet hatte, ist dusserst gewagt.’’ 
I ean find no evidence that Gatke implies that the bird did not 
nest in Lapland prior to its discovery there. But Naumann 
goes on: ‘‘wenn man den Fall vorurteilsfrei [italics mine] 
betrachtet, so verhalt es sich mit den Beweisen fiir Gatkes An- 
nahme gerade wie mit denen fiir die fabelhafte Wanderung des 
Blaukehlechens und der ‘Umfarbung’ gewisser Vogel ohne 
Mauser.’’ And then he gives Barrow’s argument (see above) 
to disprove the extension: ‘‘Es mag ja immerhin sein, dass die 
Art durch ihren Bruten giinstige Jahre in neuerer Zeit haufiger 
geworden ist aber in iibrigen geniigt zur Erklarung ihres ver- 
meintlichen haufigeren Auftretens der Umstand das eben heute 
mehr beobachtet wird.’’ 
However that may be there are others of Gatke’s mind. 
Saunders (1899), for instance, says that it ‘‘has undoubtedly 
spread westward from America in recent times and is still ex- 
tending its range in that direction.’’ With this very probable 
extension of range of a closely related form in Europe in a 
country long stabilized as to forests and cultivation, the record 
of praticola in this country becomes the easier to understand. 
MIGRATION 
south, but is, on the whole, very poorly | 
result of the rather desultory, more or less random movement 
