ON THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 
253 
All the arrivals of summer birds have been remarkably late this year. Near 
Dublin—always, we understand, an early locality—both the vegetable and 
animal world appear to have been more forward than with us.(seepp. 221 and 
225), although it must be remembered that, as “ one Swallow does not make a 
summer,” so the appearance of one or two individuals of even several plants or 
animals cannot be adduced to prove the forwardness of a season. The following 
are the dates of the arrival of some of our migratory birds in the north 
of England:— 
In Yorkshire we first saw the Darklegged Warbler^ (Sylvia loquaxj on the 
21st of April; the Swallow on the 24th; the Tree Pipit (Anthus arhoreus) on 
the 26th ; the Wood Warbler on the 28th ; the Cuckoo on the 4th of May; the 
Meadow Crake (Crex pratensis) on the same day; the Sibilous Locustell 
{Lociistella sibilatrix)^ Whin Chat {Saxicola ruhetra)^ and Blackcapt Fauvet 
(Ficedula atricapilla J, also on the 4th; we first observed the White-throated 
Fauvet (F. cinerea) on the 7th, but we had not previously visited the favourite 
haunts of this species for some weeks, and think it probable it may have arrived 
a few days sooner. From the few familiar instances above noted, it will be quite 
clear that the backwardness of the season, as regards weather and vegetation, has 
materially retarded the appearance of our birds of passage. The Darklegged 
Warbler is usually our earliest spring visitant; we have seen it at the beginning 
of February, but did not observe it till towards the close of April this year. 
The Swallows generally arrive on the 10th of April, but not until the 24th of 
that month in 1837, and they did not muster in full force till about the 4th of 
May, on which day we had a very large accession, both of species and individuals,, 
of migratory birds. 
We have lately discovered that the Tree Pipit {Anthus arhoreus) is in the 
constant habit of wagging its tail slowly up and down when perched. This 
circumstance^—which appears to have escaped the notice of all previous' 
writers, and is not recorded in our own Song Birds —is not only interesting in 
itself, but valuable in a systematic point of view. It proves the close relation¬ 
ship of the more arboreal Pipits to the Wagtails, which they also resemble in 
having short crooked hind-claws. We believe the Meadow Pipit does not wag 
its tail, or if it does, we have not noticed it. 
According to most writers, the Tree Redstart {Phoenicuru alhiftons') shakes 
its tail laterally. Upon this point we were doubtful when we wrote our descrip¬ 
tion of the species in the British Song Birds, as will be seen on reference. We 
have, however, somewhere read (we believe in Mr. Blyth's edition of White’s- 
See Hewitson’s account of this bird.. 
2l2 
