282 



BIRDS. 



and Lecturer on Physiology, Edinburgh) that he saw several 

 Goldfinches and Siskins in the birch wood close to Ardwell (where 

 we have mentioned that the Waxwing was procured this same 

 season). We made a point of searching and watching there for 

 several days after, but we saw no signs of either, though Bullfinches 

 were seen each day, and these were not mentioned by him. He 

 was, however, very positive about both species. "We quite believe 

 it possible that, as the Goldfinches have been severely driven out 

 from their more accustomed haunts, they may take to more hilly 

 ground, where, however, they are also decidedly very rare indeed, 

 because the most careful inquiries utterly failed to obtain the 

 slightest corroboration, and also elicited most positive negatives of 

 its occurrence in the district from all who certainly knew the 

 bird — and the knowledge of it as a cage-bird is very general. ^ 



Writing us under date of October 30th, 1893, Mr. Chisholm, 

 head-gamekeeper at Foyers, says that he has only seen the Gold- 

 finch there on two occasions. One was about the middle of March 

 in that year. 



As regards the disappearance of Goldfinches from North Britain, 

 the student of Mr. Gatke's remarks upon migration of certain 

 species from north to south, as opposed to that of species from 

 east to west, may find subject for consideration. The present 

 range of the Goldfinch is limited, or nearly so, to European areas 

 west of the Ural, and does not extend far north into Scandinavia 

 (Collett ; and Dresser), The principal migration of the Goldfinch 

 passes on a north to south course, not on an east to west course. 

 The same occurs with many species whose east to west distribution 

 is not extensive, such as, for instance, in the case of the Blue- 

 throated Warbler, the bulk of which passes south. But many 

 species that have this north to south tendency of their migration 

 lines are also found to have been, or still to be, breeding species 

 in North Britain, such as the Crossbill, which is distributed also 

 to the far north on the Continent. Their line is also north to 

 south, as a rule. 



At one time the Goldfinch would appear to have been similarly 

 distributed. And its migrations were no doubt upon the north to 

 south lines both in Great Britain and on the Continent. We 

 seldom if ever hear of Goldfinches at the lighthouses of our east 

 1 Mr George Sim looks upon it also as extinct in ' Dee.' 



