171 
both springs, and all but two, the Swift and the Xigditingale, 
Avero earlier in 1880; hut I was laid up with a spmin 
during a part of April, 1879. In 1880 I noted the House 
'Martin on March .30tb, whereas in 1879 I did not see one 
before May Gth. On the other hand, the Swift, which in 
1879 I .saw on April 22nd— a very early date— did not appear 
in 1880 until ^lay 12th; but this species was an exception 
to the general rule. l\ly idea is that individuals, such as this 
Swift, and the House Martin seen on March 30th, go very far 
north to breed; to Iceland, or to the north of Scandinavia, and that 
more moderate latitudes content the later-comers. The manner of 
arrival of our Inse.ssorial birds at St. Leonards is well exemplified 
by the Wheatear. Aliout the middle of Marcli the first Wheatcar 
makes its appearance, and is sure to bo a male ; a week or two 
later there arc quantities of them, another week and not a bird is 
to bo seen. At tlio end of April you may see a few pairs settling 
themselves down at long intervals to nest. Tliesc are tlie resident 
birds whicli do not number a liundredth part of wliat are seen on 
passage. The same remarks apply to tlie Yellow AVagtail* and 
the Whinchat, and all the other spring birds more or less. Hut 
it is not necessary to run over all the common species ; 
one of the rarer and more intei-esting is the Hock 1‘ipit, 
which is to bo classed as a migrant at St. Leonards; at 
any rate, from careful observation, I am pretty sure that it 
does not breed there, though it is said in the ‘Zoologist’ 
(18G4, p. 9099) to breed at Eastbourne, In IMarch I °was 
always sure of finding two or throe jxairs, but they dis- 
appeared about the end of the montli. The Linnet, on the 
other hand, when the Hock Pipits were gone, began to receive 
additions to its numbers. At the end of IMarch I saw a good 
many Corn Buntings, and the dull note of this species soon became 
very common. The Pied Wagtail is not so common as the Yellow 
Y agtail. I paid groat attention to the Pied Yhagtails, but could 
detect no accession to their numbers until the end of April, and 
Bien it was not iiormanent. Knox, in liis ‘Ornithological Bambles 
in Sussex, particularly alludes to the immigration of this species 
(p. 81) and the Goldfinch (p. 80) in the spring. The latter I 
* The \cllow Wagtail was jiaircd as early as April 10th. 
X 
