FEBRUARY 8, 1884. ] 
of Orfordness, reports, that, on the night of Oct. 6, 
larks, starlings, tree-sparrows, titmice, common wrens, 
red-breasts, chaffinches, and plovers were picked up 
on the deck, and that it is calculated that from five 
hundred to six hundred struck the rigging and fell 
overboard: a large proportion of these were larks. 
_ Thousands of birds were flying round the lantern 
from 11.30 p.m. to 4.45 a.M., their white breasts, as 
they dashed to and fro in the circle of light, having 
the appearance of a heavy snow-storm. This was 
repeated on the Sth and 12th; and on the night of the 
13th a hundred and sixty were picked up on deck, 
including larks, starlings, thrushes, and two red- 
breasts. It was thought that a thousand struck, and 
went overboard into the sea. It is only on dark, 
rainy nights, with snow or fog, that such casualties 
occur: when the nights are light, or any stars visible, 
the birds give the lanterns a wide berth. 
Undoubtedly the principal feature of the autumn 
migration has been the extraordinary abundance of 
the gold-crested wren. The flights appear to have 
covered not only the east coast of England, but to 
have extended southward to the Channel Islands, and 
northward to the Faroes (see report, East coast of 
Scotland). On the east coast of England they are 
recorded at no less than twenty-one stations from the 
Farne Islands to the Hanois lighthouse, Guernsey, 
and on the east coast of Scotland at the chief stations 
from the Isle of May to Sunburgh Head; at which 
latter station they have rarely been seen in previous 
years. Mr. Garrioch, writing from Lerwick, says, 
““In the evening of Oct. 9 my attention was called 
to a large flock of birds crossing the harbor from 
the Island of Bressay; and, on coming to a spot on 
the shore where a number had taken refuge from the 
storm, I found the flock to consist of gold-crests and 
afew fire-crests amongst them. The gold-crests spread 
over the entire island, and were observed in consider- 
able numbers till the middle of November.’’ The 
earliest notice on the east coast is Aug. 6; the latest, 
Nov. 5, or ninety-two days. They arrived somewhat 
sparingly in August and September, and in enormous 
numbers in October, more especially on the nights of 
Oct. 7 and 12, at the latter date with the woodcock. 
This flight appears to have extended across England 
to the Irish coast; foron the night of the 12th a dozen 
struck the lantern of the Tuscar Rock lighthouse, 
and on the night of the 13th they were continually 
Striking all night. During the autumn, enormous 
numbers crossed Heligoland, more especially in Octo- 
ber. On the night from the 28th to the 29th, Mr. 
Gatke remarks, ‘‘ We have had a perfect storm of 
_gold-crests, perching on the ledges of the window- 
panes of the lighthouse, preening their feathers in 
the glare of the lamps. On the 29th all the island 
swarmed with them, filling the gardens and over all 
the cliff, — hundreds of thousands. By 9 A.M. most 
of them had passed on again.’’ Not less remarkable 
was the great three-days’ flight of the common jay, 
past and across Heligoland, on Oct. 6, 7, and 8. 
Thousands on thousands, without interruption, passed 
on overhead, north and south of the island too, — 
multitudes like a continual stream, all going east 
~~ 
SCIENCE. 
159 
’ 
to west in a strong south-easterly gale. It would 
have been interesting if we had been able to corre- 
late this migration of jays with any visible arrival on 
our English coast, but in none of the returns is any 
mention made of jays. Subsequently we have re- 
ceived numerous notices of extraordinary numbers 
seen during the winter in our English woodlands. 
This seems especially to have been the case south of 
a line drawn from Flamborough Head to Portland 
Bill in Dorset. Additions and unusual numbers were 
also observed at Arden on Loch Lomond side. 
The returns show very clearly that the spring lines 
of migration followed by birds are the same as those 
in the autumn, but of course in the reverse direction, 
—from west and north-west to east and south-east. 
Another point worth noting is the occurrence of 
many species in spring at the same stations frequented 
by the species in autumn: thus double records occur 
at the Mull of Galloway, Bell Rock, Isle of May, as 
well as at some English 3:1 
As this is the fourth report issued by the commit- 
tee, we may, perhaps, with the mass of facts at our 
disposal, be expected to draw deductions which, if 
they do not explain, may serve at least to throw some 
light on the causes influencing the migration of birds. 
We might reasonably reply that the work undertaken 
by us was not to theorize, or attempt explanations, 
but simply to collect facts, and tabulate them. This 
we have endeavored to do in the shortest and sim- 
plest manner consistent with accuracy of detail. 
There is, however, one circumstance which can 
scarcely fail to present itself to those who have gone 
carefully into the reports issued by the committee; 
namely, the marvellous persistency with which, year 
by year, birds follow the same lines, or great high- 
ways of migration, when approaching or leaving our 
shores. The constancy of these periodical phenomena 
is suggestive of some settled law or principle govern- 
ing the movement. It is clearly evident, from the facts 
already at our disposal, that there are two distinct 
migrations going forward at the same time, — one the 
ordinary flow in the spring, and ebb in the autumn, 
across the whole of Europe. <A great migratory wave 
moves to and from the nesting-quarters of the birds, 
in the coldest part of their range, — north-east in the 
spring, and south-west in the autumn. Quite inde- 
pendent of this, there is a continual stream of immi- 
grants, week by week and month by month, to the 
eastern shores of these islands, coming directly across 
Europe from east to west, or more commonly four 
points south of east to north of west, and the reverse 
in the spring. These immigrants are mainly com- 
posed of those common and well-known species which 
annually make these islands their winter quarters, 
and, as a rule, take the place of our summer birds. 
They come in one broad stream, but denser on some 
special lines or highways than others. Cutting the 
line of ordinary migration at nearly right angles, one 
flank brushes the Orkney and Shetland Isles, pouring 
through the Pentland Firth, even touching the dis- 
tant Faroes. The southern wing crosses the Channel 
Islands, shaping its course in a north-westerly direc- 
tion to the English coast. 
