192 STUDIES IN BIRD-MIGRATION 



mere waifs. No less than forty-eight of these species 

 were new to the avifauna of the St Kilda group ; and 

 not a few had not previously been observed in any of 

 the isles of the Outer Hebrides. The rest of the birds 

 noticed were natives of the archipelago, some of which 

 are more or less migratory, since they seek the islands 

 in spring and depart for a longer or shorter time in the 

 autumn : among these are the Gannet, Guillemot, 

 Razorbill, Puffin, and certain Gulls and Petrels, 



Among the species observed were several of con- 

 siderable rarity, including one new to the British 

 avifauna and two to that of Scotland. These came as 

 pleasant surprises, but, as in similar cases, not always 

 — far from it — as aids to the solution of migration 

 problems. The new bird for Britain was the American 

 Pipit {Antkus pennsylvanicus), and those new to 

 Scotland were the Marsh - Warbler {Acrocephalus 

 palustris) and Baird's Sandpiper (Tringa bairdi). 

 The other rare or little-observed species were several 

 Scarlet Grosbeaks, Greater Redpolls, Ortolan Buntings, 

 Little Buntings, Lapland Buntings, a Crossbill, Barred 

 Warbler, Black-throated Chat, two Red-throated Pipits, 

 Turtle- Dove, Ruff, Great Snipe, and a number of Sooty 

 Shearwaters. 



Other interesting visitors were the Chaffinch, 

 Greenfinch, Whinchat, Redstart, Garden Warbler, 

 Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow- 

 Warbler, Chiffchaff, Tree-Pipit, Brambling, Wryneck, 

 and Coot. It is of extreme interest to have discovered 

 that St Kilda is visited by such a number of birds 

 which pass the summer in Northern Continental 

 Europe. 



The most abundant species observed on passage 



