3o6 Bird Migration in Solway, [Sess. 



or a Seapie from a Sparrow-Hawk, but generally one cannot 

 tell the " t'other from which." There seems no reason to doubt 

 that on such clear days as these, when the birds could only 

 be distinguished as dots, multitudes were in flight higher still 

 beyond the limits of vision. 



In Solway, one of the most interesting observations is 

 the crossing of the lines of flight. Long since, the Eev. 

 Hugh A. Macpherson, whose death in the full vigour of his 

 powers and usefulness every British ornithologist mourned, 

 called the Solway Firth a great ornithological junction. This 

 likening of the meeting- place of the two main lines of bird 

 flight to a railway junction was a very happy analogy. 



Many of the far-eastern species seem to find in the Solway 

 Firth a terminus to their journey. Species that are quite 

 abundant along the east coasts of England and Scotland may 

 cross England at its narrowest part opposite to the Solway 

 Firth, either in scanty numbers, very rarely, or not at all. 

 West of the Solway Firth such species become scarcer 

 still. 



It is noteworthy that a directly northward flight in spring 

 is very seldom seen — all have a more or less westward bend 

 in their direction. On the contrary, the southward flight in 

 autumn is far more direct, and goes almost, if not quite, due 

 south. 



Some spring-times the Eedwings and Fieldfares " crowd 

 down " in Solway to a very large extent during April, and 

 occasionally remain well on into May. Then it is of peculiar 

 interest to see them going off about sunset, or later, mounting 

 high into the clear sky, and going along in compact bodies, 

 due east, uttering their chattering calls as they fly rapidly out 

 of sight. The late stay of these birds when they cover the 

 pasture-fields, their voices mingling with the songs of the 

 Willow - Warblers, the Cuckoos, and the Corncrakes, is of 

 somewhat incongruous eflect, but is a pleasant and not rare 

 experience in Solway. 



So far I have dealt only with the two regular seasonal 

 periods. But some of the irregular migration phenomena 

 must also be briefly referred to. 



A warm and genial summer will force certain species 

 beyond their usual northern limits, and hence we have at 



