53 



THE WHITETHROAT. 



Sylvia cinerea, Bechst. 



Whitethroats arrived alono- the" whole of the south coast, 

 but first and principally on the western portion. 



Stragglers were noted in Devonshire and Kent as early as 

 the 27th and 29th o£ March, but up to the 18th o£ April the 

 records were mostly of single birds, in widely scattered 

 localities. To a large extent they were derived from a small 

 immigration that landed on the western end of the south 

 coast between the 7th and 12th. 



The second immigration, which was a large one, arrived in 

 two divisions ; the western portion landed between Cornwall 

 and Hampshire on the 19tli and 20th, and the eastern portion 

 landed in Sussex and Kent on the 21st and 23rd. This, 

 together with another large immigration that arrived along 

 the whole of the south coast between the 25th and 29th, 

 seems to have furnished the greater portion of the breeding- 

 stock of Whitethroats in England and Wales. Northumber- 

 land was reached by the 22nd, Cumberland and Renfrew on 

 the 24th and Stirling on the 1st of May, while the species 

 was stated to be present in its normal numbers in the 

 southern counties and to be already nesting by the beginning 

 of May. Migration, however, continued to be actively in 

 progress until the fourth week of May, and birds were 

 passing the CJhannel Islands up to the 15th. From the 2nd 

 to the 13fch arrivals were taking place daily at one or more 

 points on the south coast, and the northward passage of these 

 migrants is well shown by the numerous records from the 

 light-stations on both the east and west coasts, as well as by 

 the fluctuating numbers reported from inland localities. 

 Many of these l)irds appear to have settled down in Wales, 



