25 



the last named year already distributed over the whole of 

 Siberia, but in 1835 had not been met with as a breeding bird in 

 Scandinavia." Now if Herr Gatke's contention is correct that 

 a great proportion of the Shore Larks passing Heligoland are of 

 Asiatic origin, as he describes on p. 32, it is a remarkable fact, 

 bearing in mind that the species had already spread over the 

 whole of Siberia, that this bird was at that particular period 

 unknown as a visitor to the island. It is still more remarkable 

 that not until ten years after the discovery of pairs breeding in 

 Eastern Finmark, viz., the year 1847, that examples were met 

 with in Heligoland in any liumbers. " Since that time — adds 

 Herr Gatke^the Shore Lark has rapidly multiplied and it has 

 become one of • the most common breeding birds in Lapland and 

 Finmark." Some idea of its abundance in Scandinavia even as 

 much as thirty or more years ago, may be gathered from 

 Wheelwright's experiences. The latter observer states that 

 during his stay at Quickiock he secured about fifty examples 

 and could have obtained many more had he so desired. 



Now what a curious coincidence must have taken place in 

 regard to the extension of the breeding range and the migratory 

 habits of this species — if, as soon as it had become numerous 

 in a region lying to the north and north east of Heligoland, 

 whence its migratory flights might reasonably be expected to 

 carry it over the island — that the Asiatic individuals should 

 suddenly develop a tendency to abandon their old winter 

 quarters lying to the south or south-east of their breeding 

 range and to seek new ones in the west or south-west of Europe ; 

 a district where we should only expect the breeding birds from 

 Northern Europe to find a winter home. In the light of the 

 evidence brought before us by Herr Gatke, if we accept his 

 theory of the far eastern origin of the large flights of this species 

 which now pass his observatory, this is really what must have 

 taken place. 



The locality of the winter quarters of the Shore Lark is 

 involved in some obscurity, which Herr Gatke's speculations 

 will hardly tend to dissipate. After commenting on the enorm- 

 ous numbers comprising the above flights which in his opinion 

 can only be derived from a country far larger than the whole of 



