440 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Not the least interesting portion of Mr. Mathew's book is 

 that section of his " Introduction " (pp. xxxv — xl) in which he 

 deals with the subject of migration, and the Reports from the 

 Pembrokeshire lighthouses, all of them well situated ; the 

 " Smalls " in particular, which from its position fifteen miles out 

 at sea, in the centre of St. Bride's Bay, where it is almost 

 exactly opposite to the lighthouse on the Tuskar Rock, that 

 stands seven miles off the Wexford coast, might afford valuable 

 statistics respecting the passage of birds between Pembrokeshire 

 and Ireland. The lighthouse on the South Bishops Rock off 

 St. David's peninsula, the two lighthouses at the entrance to 

 Milford Haven, and the tall lighthouse on Caldy, are all important 

 stations from which the returns are of great interest. Such 

 lighthouses as those in Cardigan Bay, on the Smalls, and on 

 Lundy, are of special value from their isolated position so many 

 miles from land, where they must necessarily attract birds that 

 make their aerial journeys well out at sea. In fine weather the 

 birds fly wide of, or high above, the lighthouses ; but in stormy 

 or misty weather, they flutter about them during the night and 

 the early hours of the morning in a bewildered manner, and 

 hundreds perish from dashing themselves violently against the 

 lanterns. 



Mr. Mathew states, however, that he is quite unable to arrive 

 at any beyond the most general conclusions, as the materials for 

 forming any adequate theory are as yet far too scanty from the 

 returns supplied. They serve nevertheless to reveal the fact 

 that several species commonly regarded as residents are to be 

 included amongst the birds which periodically migrate. 



The position of the Pembrokeshire lighthouses, as well as 

 those at a distance, which doubtless influence the direction of the 

 migrating flocks, is clearly shown on a folding map at the end of 

 the volume, while another map of the county indicates most, if 

 not all, of the localities which are referred to in the text. The 

 accompanying illustrations, from photographs of some of the 

 more notable haunts of sea-fowl in Pembrokeshire, furnish a 

 most appropriate embellishment to a well-planned and very well- 

 written volume. 



