6 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the north coast it only struck two, the south coast two, and the 

 west coast only one.* However, from what I have said in 

 regard to its behaviour at the lantern, it is evident that we 

 cannot conclude from these statistics alone that much greater 

 numbers pass along the east coast than along the other coasts 

 of Ireland. It is suggestive that the Eobin, like the Wren, may 

 fly relatively low, and so pass the Tuskar tower below the level 

 of the lantern. This, however, would not account for the com- 

 plete absence of the bird from the lantern in spring and its 

 occurrence in autumn. 



Passing on to the autumnal migration of the Eobin, I am 

 able to furnish seven personal records from the Tuskar Light- 

 Station — six from the lantern and one from the rock. Five of 

 these birds were obtained in September — two in September, 1911, 

 and three in September, 1912. Taking the two seasons together, 

 we find that the occurrence of the Kobin in September covered only 

 a period of six days, extending from Sept. 12th to 17th, the birds 

 of 1912 appearing just a shade earlier than those of 1911. Hence 

 it may be that this is a period marked by active migration, and 

 that these birds represent stray specimens from many others 

 which passed the lantern unobserved. But, assuming that the 

 Robin avoids the lantern to a large extent, it is extremely hard 

 to fix the period when migration is at its height. However, I 

 was pleased to obtain evidence this autumn of the migration of 

 this bird in August, in which month the other two specimens 

 were collected. In 1911 I did not arrive on the Tuskar Rock 

 until Sept. 11th, and hence cannot say whether the Robin 

 occurred in August. 



In regard to the specimens collected, it may be noted that 

 the two earliest birds of the season were captured almost simul- 

 taneously, whilst the last two Robins of the season were obtained 

 also on one night and in rapid succession. The first birds, 

 according to season and not to year, were obtained on Aug. 15th, 

 1912. The night was calm, the sky dark and clouded over, and 

 there was a light breeze coming from the west. Though I saw 

 a few birds flitting about in the rays since 9 o'clock, neverthe- 

 less no bird came in contact with the glass before 10.40 p.m., 

 when the Robin was captured. This bird flew in very 



:;: Barrington, loc. cit., p. 39. 



