Receyitly published Ornithological Works . 515 
into two sections; the former treating of the author's ( Obser¬ 
vations on nocturnal Bird-flights at the lighthouse at Point 
Lepreaux, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick ;' the latter being 
entitled f Facts and Theories respecting the general subject 
of Bird-Migration/ Mr. Brewster's experiences in the 
lantern of the lighthouse while birds were striking frequently, 
and at times continuously, are very interesting, his estimate 
of the proportion borne by the killed and severely wounded 
to those which escape practically uninjured being highly 
instructive. Part II. deserves, and has no doubt already 
received, careful perusal from those who are specially studying 
the migration of birds. It would be difficult to find a more 
patient observer than Mr. Brewster, and his statements with 
regard to North-American species deserve the highest respect, 
however much some of them may militate against the ex¬ 
periences of some observers on this side of the water. His 
opinion is, that with most North-American birds the majority 
of adults either precede or accompany the first flights of 
young in the autumnal migration, and he has failed to find 
any proof that the young of a single species precede the old. 
From this rule he does not even except the North-American 
Limicolse. What do our authorities on European migrants 
say to this ? Here is plenty of matter for controversy, and 
still more for reflection 7 to which latter we will confine our¬ 
selves. To those who believe that the American Spotted 
Sandpiper visits the British Islands, we recommend Mr. 
Brewster's remark that it “ is conspicuous among Scolopacidse 
for its. comparatively feeble, restricted powers of flight;" 
yet there are some ornithologists for whom such unproved 
visitations present no difficulty, while the well-authenticated 
narratives of the behaviour of the nestling Cuckoo are classed 
with stories of ghosts and apparitions. 
81. British Association 1 s Report on Migrations in 1885. 
[Report on the Migration of Birds in the Spring and Autumn of 1885. 
By Messrs. J. A. Harvie-Brown, J. Cordeaux, R. M. Barrington, A. Gr. 
More, and W. Eagle Clarke. Seventh Report. 8vo. Edinburgh: 
1886.] 
This seventh Report shows a marked improvement upon 
