196 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



XXI. — Notes on the recent Immigration of Mealy Redpolls {Acanthis 

 linaria), including the form known as Holboll's Redpoll. By 

 William Evans, F.R.S.E., M.B.O.U. 



(Read 23rd January 1911. Received 31st March 1911.) 



The Mealy Redpoll is an irregular autumn and winter visitor to the 

 British Isles, the numbers varying from very few, or none at all in some years, 

 to vast immigrations in others. Immigrations on a large scale are stated to 

 have occurred in the years 1820 or there about, 1829, 1847, 1855, 1861, 1863, 

 1873, 1885, and 1897 ; and now we have to add 1910. So far as the records 

 show, it would appear that the "invasion" of 1910 has had few equals, if, 

 indeed, it has not surpassed all others in magnitude, at any rate in Scotland, 

 At various points along the east coast from Shetland to the Forth, the birds 

 were observed in marked abundance, and in England large numbers are 

 recorded from the coasts of Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Kent. 1 The number that 

 came into the Forth Area was quite phenomenal. Heralded by a few at the 

 Isle of May in the middle of October, 2 the first of the large flocks appears to 

 have arrived here about a week later, followed by a stream of others during 

 the remainder of the month and the first week of November. The move- 

 ment, however, was probably at its height in this district during the closing 

 days of October. 



Some idea of the progress of the immigration may be gathered from the 

 following data : — 



In Unst, the northernmost of the Shetlands, a few Mealy Redpolls were 

 noticed by Dr T. E. Saxby on October 17th, and on the 22nd he noted them 

 as " fairly abundant" (in litt. 17th Jan. 1911). At Ollaberry, however, in 

 the main island, the Rev. James Waterston tells me he had two brought 

 to him on or about October 9th, prior to which some had been seen by the 

 man who shot these, and that between then and the end of the month 

 flocks of considerable size were observed moving about the district. 

 From Mr Eagle Clarke I learn that they appeared in large numbers on Fair 

 Isle, which lies considerably to the south of Shetland proper, during the 

 second half of October, as indicated in his notes in the Annals of Scottish 

 Natural History for the present month. They were also observed in the 

 Orkneys, and about Elgin. 



In the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, where I hear large numbers were 



1 British Birch, January 1911, p. 2. r >4. 



2 Ann, Scot. Nat. Hist., January 1911, p. 4- 



