6o Booth : Migration of the Common Swallow. 
February, 1919, in Michael Givensa’s cattle kraal in East 
Griqualand, South Africa. The Swallow was very thin and 
exhausted. The natives all thought it boded ill-luck for Michael 
and considered that it was a clear case of witchcraft for a bird 
to appear from ‘ nowhere ' with a ring round its leg, and alight in 
a cattle kraal !* The fifth case was ringed as a young bird by 
Mr. J. Bartholomew, at Torrance, Stirlingshire, on June 27th, 
1919, and was caught, the ring taken off and the bird released 
near Lake Chrissie in the Transvaal, on January 28th, 1920, 
and the ring returned, j- It is a remarkable fact that these 
five birds, the homes of which are almost in the extreme north- 
west of Europe, should all be recovered on the eastern side of 
South Africa. It should not be overlooked that these places 
are in our colonies, where English is well known, and where 
the bird-ringing schemes have been largely advertised. 
I will now select a few field observations on their southern 
movements, when the migratory Swallows are well on their 
way south. One of the most interesting is told by Commander 
H. Lynes, R.N., in British Birds, Vol. I. pp. 285-7. He was 
collecting African birds on the undulating hills about seven 
miles inland from Mombasa, in British East Africa, on November 
1st, 1907. About noon there flitted past him two or three 
birds that looked very much like English Swallows. ‘ About 
12-30 p.m., I became aware of an intermittent passage to the 
south-south-west of some parties of the same — five or six at 
a time. They were flying low, never more than twenty feet 
from the ground, and often just skimming over the tops of 
the long grass and bushes, but always pressing onwards in a 
steady businesslike way, at the rate of about twenty-five mile 
an hour. Up to 2-30 p.m., it had been a fine day, when dark 
clouds gathered, and the wind changed and rose, and there' 
was every indication of a rapidly approaching rain-storm. 
The effect of the probable storm on the Swallows was wonderful. 
They would not face it and proceed. A banking up of the 
migratory stream resulted, and the air was simply alive with 
Swallows from the ground level up to 1000 feet high, all evident- 
ly catching what flies they could, so as to make the best use of 
their delayed time. There must have been thousands in my 
field of vision.’ The threatened storm did not come, and Comm. 
Lynes started on the chase after some African birds that he 
had never seen before. When he returned in about a quarter 
of an hour, the Swallows had almost disappeared, ‘ leaving 
hardly a single bird in view, and in another five minutes not 
one European Swallow could be seen.’ 
( To he continued ). 
* British Birds, Yol. XIII., p. 196. f British Birds, Vol. XIV., p. 42. 
Naturalist 
