1 8 Presi^eiifs Address. 



winter, these two sub-divisions going to form the division of 

 migratory birds, as compared with the other division, the 

 permanent residents. The lecture being only on the subject 

 of migration, classification was not alluded to ; so, explaining 

 the difference and instancing some examples of the two sub- 

 divisions just mentioned — the summer migiants and the winter 

 migrants — the lecturer next proceeded to point out that even 

 among our so-called permanently resident birds migration 

 prevailed to a large extent ; and he illustrated this by reference 

 to the habits of the curlew, the starling, the skylark, and others. 

 The questions of what began the migration movement and 

 what leads to its continuance were next discussed at some 

 length, and the theories of different authorities on the subject 

 alluded to in detail. He differed from the authors whose works 

 he referred to or quoted from, and stated his own views on these 

 two branches of the subject. He next proceeded to give a 

 comprehensive sketch of the great migratory movement — 

 " the mystery of migration," as he termed it — as observed in 

 various places, paying a high compliment to Mr. Seebohm and 

 Mr. Harvie-Brown for their investigations in this direction. 

 Mr. Seebohm he alluded to most particularly as having under- 

 taken a journey of over 15,000 miles to the mouth of one of 

 the great Siberian rivers — the Yenesei, falling into the Arctic 

 Ocean — in his endeavours to track some of our migrants to 

 their summer homes. The scenes witnessed by the intrepid 

 travellers were graphically described, and were admirably 

 illustrated by the lantern slides. Migration in the United 

 Kingdom, but in Ireland in particular, and in Continental 

 Europe, was next alluded to, the lecturer concluded with a 

 description of the wonderful migration which occurs in Heligo- 

 land, as recorded in a recently-published translation of the 

 great work on the birds of that island by a veteran resident 

 there, Mr Gatke. The nesting habits of some of the birds were 

 described, and views of some favourite nesting- places exhibited, 

 these and the other views adding an artistic attraction to an 

 interesting and instructive lecture, which was listened to with 

 attention throughout by a most appreciative audience. 



