122 REPORT ON THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



like." There was snow, with a very strong wind. At Eathlin 

 O'Birne (West Donegal) immense nocks of birds — Starlings, 

 Thrushes, and Fieldfares — passed west December 18th to 23d. 

 The nearest land to the west of this rocky island is America, 

 and one is puzzled to know where the birds were going ; but 

 this is not an isolated occurrence — the westerly flight of land 

 birds at stations off the west coast of Ireland has been noticed 

 on other occasions. The movement is apparently as reckless 

 as that of the Lemmings. The Eing Ouzel is again stated to 

 have been seen in the winter (January 15th) at Mine Head. 

 It is strange that not a single leg and wing of the Grey Linnet, 

 or the Twite (birds, doubtless, included under the name of 

 " Linnets "), has yet been .received. They seem rarely to strike. 

 There are two or three instances of the Golden Plover having 

 been killed striking in 1886. The " Cream-coloured " Gulls 

 seen off Blackrock, Mayo, November 5th, and also seen in 

 August 1881, April and May 1882, and October 11th, 1884 

 (see Eeport, 1884, p. 181), were probably Iceland Gulls. The 

 Gannet is well known to every light-keeper, and its movements 

 are not likely to be confounded with any other bird. The 

 entries, therefore, under it may be examined with confidence. 

 Species which are ill-defined, or named with doubtful accuracy 

 in the Eeport, are put in in inverted commas. In Ireland 

 birds are far less numerous than in Great Britain, and 

 their movements are less distinctly marked. Few entries have, 

 therefore, been omitted, for their value cannot be estimated 

 until a number of Eeports have been compared. It is proposed 

 next year to analyse all the Irish observations. 



To all the light-keepers forwarding schedules our best thanks 

 are due; to those sending legs and wings, and specimens in the flesh, 

 we are under still further obligations. The interest evinced when 

 three, four, and five schedules are filled with careful notes, shows 

 the desire to further knowledge for its own sake, and speaks 

 well for the intelligence of such observers. The Commissioners 

 of Irish Lights, and their secretary, Mr Owen Armstrong, con- 

 tinue to give us their very necessary assistance; and Captain 

 Boxer, E.N., in his frequent visits to the lighthouses, is ever 

 ready to further the objects of this inquiry. 



Eichard M. Barrington. 

 Alexander G. More. 



