NOTES AND QUERIES. 38^ 



some navigators, as granado, bark, Nef, Heaven, Lluynog, a fox, pengwin, 

 a bird with a white head, with sundry others, which are pure British." 

 This observation, confirmatory of Drayton's view (1613), was most likely 

 made (1630) quite independently of it, and it is to be regretted that, for 

 our present purpose, Howell did not quote the actual words of the navi- 

 gators to whom he referred. I confess that I do not see anything im- 

 probable in the suggestion that the word pen-gwin may have come to us 

 through the agency of Welsh sailors trading with Newfoundland. On the 

 contrary, it seems not unlikely that when viewing for the first time a Great 

 Auk or Garefowl in its winter plumage in Newfoundland seas, they would 

 liken it to the Razorbill or Guillemot in similar plumage, with which, 

 under the general term pen-gwin, they would be very familiar on the Welsh 

 coast, where these birds are abundant. So in the case of the New World 

 Crocodile, we get the word "alligator" from a corruption of the name 

 bestowed by Spanish sailors on an animal which they likened to a large 

 Lizard — el lagarta. — J. E. Harting. 



Migration of Swallows in Dorset. — On Sept. 30th, at Swanage, I 

 found a remarkable migration of young Swallows going on. This was the 

 only day during my stay on which the wind was not westerly and strong ; 

 it had changed to a moderate breeze from the north-east. Along the coast 

 south and west of the little town an incessant stream of birds was passing 

 eastwards in an almost direct flight ; the vast majority were young Swallows, 

 with a very few old ones here and there, and an occasional party of House 

 Martins. The latter seemed to keep in small groups together : if my eye 

 caught one, there were sure to be others passing at the same moment. I 

 walked in this great stream of birds to the headland where the coast sud- 

 denly trends to the north, to see whether they would keep the coast-line or 

 venture out to sea. The morning was misty, and the Isle of Wight was 

 not visible ; and every bird, so far as I could see, turned northwards with 

 the coast. I followed them to Swanage Bay, and found them still keeping 

 the same direction, i.e. crossing the town and skirting the bay, a few only 

 taking a short cut across it towards Poole Harbour. As on previous 

 occasions, I came to the conclusion that very few of these birds cross to the 

 Continent at a point so far westward as this, though here they would have 

 a natural inducement to do so in the sharp turn of the coast northwards, 

 which would pull them up, as it were, and make them consider what to do 

 next. The next morning, however, I did actually see two small parties go 

 direct over the sea southwards at a much greater height than that at which 

 the other birds were flying, and regretted that they were too far away for 

 me to determine whether they were old birds, whose experience might have 

 prompted them to do what the others could not or would not risk. Later 

 on this second day, while walking back to Swanage under the downs from 



