3o8 Bird Migration in Solway. [Sess. 



yet most obscure and ill-known in their why and wherefore. 

 Wind and weather and temperature have, of course, the 

 greatest influence on the movements of the feathered voy- 

 agers, but the action of these influences is not at all well 

 understood. If we could trace, hour by hour, the movements 

 of any individual migrant from the time it landed over the 

 southern shores of England till it reached the place where it 

 makes its summer home, a complete knowledge of migration 

 would not be unattainable. Such a record is wellnigh im- 

 possible. All we can hope to do is to note the movements of 

 a species. Even that is far, very far, from being perfect. 

 We want a thoroughly detailed series of dates and other 

 particulars from the moment a species — the Cuckoo, for 

 instance — lands on this side of the English Channel until it 

 has passed through the Shetlands. And all the migrating 

 species must be treated in a similar way. The thing has 

 been done very well indeed all over the United States and 

 Canada for years past. If it can be accomplished over such 

 a vast continent, what hinders the work on our little native 

 land ? Want of organisation simply. 



There is a tremendous attraction to the nature lover in 

 watching for the return of the birds. While the noting 

 of dates is a comparatively common doing on the part of 

 those who watch the birds coming in spring, it must be said 

 that it is rather rudimentary work. He who wishes to go 

 deeper into the mystery of migration will do much more 

 than this. He will note the hour of arrival, — even the 

 minute is of importance. The direction of the wind is 

 all-important, and the character of the weather must also 

 be noted. In fact, all the meteorological data must go down 

 if a complete record is wanted. And there is the direction 

 of flight, condition of birds (whether tired-looking or other- 

 wise), height they are flying at, number of birds seen, and a 

 whole list of little minutiae that must be taken down on every 

 occasion. The observer who goes in for this will find himself 

 amongst a maze of new facts. And if he is new to this line 

 of observation, he will be perfectly astonished at his intro- 

 duction to so many things " that are not in the books." 



In the springtime of the year any mild, moist, and there- 

 fore dark night, with the wind from any compass except the 



