ZOOLOGY. 73 



of them, darkening the sky with heavy masses of rapidly 

 moving vapour, and causing a heavy rolling swell to break 

 upon their rocky shores. Should an occurrence of this 

 nature take place while the plover legions are on their 

 flight over sea, it becomes impossible for them to proceed. 

 Driven back and harrassed by the terrific storm of wind and 

 rain, — in which doubtless many perish, — ^the lone Islands 

 of Bermuda become a refuge to numbers of these birds in 

 their distress, and also to numerous flocks of other over sea 

 migrants. The grassy hills of the south shore and Port 

 Eoyal, the islands in the Sound, and other open spots, teem 

 on these occasions with flocks of plover ; and " gunners " of 

 every shade and degree wage war upon the unhappy 

 fugitives. Many, of course, fall victims to this ;^ersecu- 

 tion, (and these are remarkable for being extremely fat,) 

 but no sooner does the weather become settled and fair, 

 than the strangers take their departure for the south, leaving 

 very few stragglers behind them. It is, therefore, as 

 Major Wedderbum correctly states, only in wet and tem- 

 pestuous weather, that this plover visits the Bermudas in 

 any considerable numbers. A few flocks, probably later 

 arrivals, are met with to the middle of October. 



I will now risk the imputation of being tedious, by 

 quoting the following testimony from my notes. 

 , September nth, 1846. The Schooner " G. 0. Bigelow " 

 arrived this day from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The master, 

 Edwin Jones, informs me that while off the east end of 

 these islands, yesterday, hundreds of flocks of plover were 

 seen passing over the vessel to the southward, and numerous 

 flocks could be heard passing in the same direction during 

 the night. 



