34 



native of the far east of Asia, from Lake Baikal to the Sea of 

 Ochotsk ; its regular line of autumnal migration runs south, and 

 it consequently is a common winter resident in South China and 

 the eastern parts of India — Bengal, for instance — being in 

 Calcutta a plentiful market bird during the winter months. 

 Such individuals, therefore, as under exceptional and undoubtedly 

 meteorological influences adopt at irregular periods, though in rare 

 instances in comparatiwely considerable numbers, a western instead 

 of their normal southern autumnal migration flight, can reasonably 

 be pronounced only accidental visitors to Europe. The more so 

 since even the cases of appearance in greater numbers of this Pipit 

 have occurred mostly at intervals of from six to ten years, viz., in 

 1839, 1848, 1849, 1859, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1876. On account of 

 prevailing westerly winds A. Bichardi has during the last fifteen 

 years been obtained here but once or twice about every third year." 

 The above passage is directly at variance with the statement 

 on p. 29-30 to the effect that — " Nor must such individuals be 

 in any sense regarded as isolated rarities or ' stragglers,' for 

 not only are they met with regularly every autumn, but they 

 frequently attain to the comparatively large numbers of from ten 

 to fifty, and in two or three instances of even a hundred in- 

 dividuals in a single day." After the above admission that A. 

 Eichardi should only be treated as an accidental visitor to Europe, 

 we shall undoubtedly be justified in placing a very small value 

 on the evidence its occurrence affords, of a general migration from 

 the far east of Asia to the west of Europe ; and as this is by far 

 the most numerous of the Asiatic visitors to Heligoland we may 

 fairly treat the casual visits of those species, only occurring once 

 or twice during a period of fifty years, as still more accidental. 



What the many other species are from far eastern Asia which, 

 to use Herr Gatke's own words — " visit Heligoland in such 

 large numbers every autumn " (p. 33), one is at a loss to know. 



A few words must be written on the autumnal migrations of 

 the Goldcrest, for from a cursory examination of Herr Gatke's 

 remarks on this species, they might appear to confirm the theory 

 that the flight sets out from the breeding grounds in Norway in 

 the manner he describes. There can be no doubt that the large 

 numbers or rushes of this species which have at times arrived on 



