2 REPORT ON THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



Printed schedules, letters of instructions, and additional 

 remarks were forwarded to twenty- six stations on the East Coast 

 of Scotland and the Shetland and Orkney Islands, making, with 

 the Iceland and Faroe stations, thirty-nine in all for 1880. With 

 Fair Isle for 1881 we shall have forty stations. 



Eight stations on the East Scottish coasts retm*ned filled-in 

 schedules, against thirteen last year, out of a total of twenty-six. 

 This shows a falling off from last year. The reasons for this 

 I have endeavoured to explain in my general remarks further on, 

 imder both East and West Coast. Scarcity of birds is reported 

 from several stations. 



The stations from which co-operation w^as asked are the 

 following, commencing with the most northerly. Those from 

 which returns have been received are marked with a * ; those 

 which sent returns both last year and this year have two ** ; 

 those which sent none last year but have done so this year have 

 a f prefixed ; those which sent returns last year but none this 

 year are printed in italics. In future Eeports w^e will prefix to 

 each station the years in ^Yhich these stations make returns. 

 A marked improvement appears, however, in the returns which 

 we have received, these being fuller than in 1879. 



We would like, however, to direct the special attention of our 

 reporters, both on the East and West Coasts, to the desirability 

 of recording exactly the directions of flight of the birds observed 

 in every case, so far as practicable, arid to minutiae of dates, even 

 of single occurrences. Let us also impress that even a single 

 accurate return, or one entry only in a schedule, is often of value ; 

 and even if solitary occurrences of birds take place at a station, 

 such should be sent to me, though the schedule be otherwise a 

 blank. The interest has this season been better kept up on the 

 West Coast stations than at the East Coast ones, judging from 

 the scarcity of returned schedules from the latter. When no 

 schedules are returned, I would esteem it a great favour if the 

 lighthouse-keepers would kindly drop me a post-card, stating if 

 there is any reason for no returns being sent, such as pressure of 

 duties, scarcity of birds, or other causes. 



In connection with the migration of 1880, I have to mention 

 that considerable aid to the work has been given by Mr. James 

 Hardy, of Old Cambus, Berwickshire. He writes to me (22nd 

 Feb. 1881), " I have drawn out a scheme of all the memoranda 



