166 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Appearing, however, in a scientific periodical as an argument in 

 support of his assertion that most of the great number of rare 

 accidental visitors to Heligoland were not old birds, but birds in 

 their first spring, — that is to say, not quite a year old, — I feel 

 called upon, in order to show the fallacy of this latter hypo- 

 thesis, to give further on a list of such specimens of the visitors 

 in question as are beyond doubt two years old and more, and not 

 young "blundering" individuals in their first year. There is 

 surely far less " blundering " in the migratory movements of 

 birds than is to be found in some of the laborious compilations 

 about migration. 



Respecting Mr. Seebohm's opinion that " of course no [evi- 

 dence is to be found in the (my) book " that I could distinguish 

 a young from an old bird, I have to add that I certainly did 

 refrain from swilling my work with descriptions of the common 

 order to be found in scores of books, but that where I deemed 

 it advisable — as, for instance, with Anthus Richardi — I have given 

 a very complete description of all stages of plumage from two 

 months to two years of age and upwards. In support of his view, 

 Mr. Seebohm particularly quotes Turdus varius : had he pro- 

 ceeded, however, in a less superficial manner, he would have 

 found in my book (pp. 243 and 244) a description of this Thrush, 

 giving, as a peculiar character of the same, the " purely white " 

 and deep black streak which extends over the under side of the 

 extended wing of the bird. Mr. Seebohm laying down this mark 

 as a particular sign of age in the species, he must, by his own evi- 

 dence, allow the nine examples of T. varius to pass as adult birds. 



Here may follow the list of such rare exceptional visitors as 

 are represented by specimens of two years of age and more: — 

 Falco rufipes, 2 males, 1 female ; Muscicapa albicollis, 1 male ; 

 Pastor roseus, 9 males, 7 females ; Turdus saxatilis, 2 males, 

 1 female ; Sylvia mesoleuca, 1 male ; S. Bonelli, 1 male ; S. viri- 

 danus, 1 male, 1 female ; S. virens, 1 male ; Accentor alpinus, 

 3 males ; Saxicola aurita, 2 males ; S. deserti, 2 males ; S. morio, 

 1 male, 1 female; Anthus ludovicianus, 1 female; Alauda leuco- 

 ptera, 1 male, 1 female ; A. tatarica, 1 male, 1 female ; Emberiza 

 aureola, 1 female ; E. ccesia, 8 males, 1 female ; E. pityornis, 

 1 male ; E. rustica, 6 males, 1 female ; E. pyrrhuloides, 1 male ; 

 E. melanocephala, 6 males, 4 females ; Hirundo rufula, 1 male ; 

 Cypselus melba, 1 male ; Charadrius fulvus, 2 males ; C. caspiw, 



