Before the end of September it has commenced to migrate southwards on its way to its winter quarters in Algeria, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Palestine. It is said to be rare in Portugal, and seen on passage only in Spain, touching also at the Azores. It goes, however, much further south, as will be seen presently. Signor Bettoni includes it amongst the birds which breed regularly in Lombardy;[123] and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley note it (“Ibis,” 1870, p. 333) as found in Epirus and Constantinople. In Corfu it is met with sparingly in April and September, on its spring and autumn migrations. A single instance is on record of its having been shot in Oudh;[124] but Mr. Blyth informed me that he knew of no other authority for it as an Indian bird, although he had seen specimens from Afghanistan. South of the Equator the Landrail penetrates to Natal (cf. Gurney, “Ibis,” 1863, p. 331), and, according to Mr. Layard (“Birds of South Africa,” p. 338), a solitary specimen has been procured in Cape Colony.
Mr. Ayres, who has shot it in Natal, writing of its habits (“Ibis,” 1863, p. 331), says: “Having been once flushed, it is a difficult matter to put them up a second time out of the long grass; for, besides running with great swiftness, they have a curious method of evading the dogs by leaping with closed wings and compressed feathers over the long grass some three or four yards, and then, running a short distance, they leap again. The scent being thus broken, they generally evade the most keen-scented dogs; and so quickly are these strange leaps made, that it is only by mere chance that the birds are seen.” Many an English sportsman can testify to their power of evading good dogs, although they may not quite know how it is done. Nor is this the only way in which the Landrail displays its cunning. If surprised suddenly and caught, it will often feign death, and remain perfectly stiff and motionless for several minutes, to all appearance dead, but in reality only waiting for an opportunity to steal off unobserved. I have known two or three instances in which this ruse has been practised with success upon unsuspecting naturalists. Those who intend, therefore, to investigate the subject of hybernation should be on their guard against what at first sight might strike them as an instance of torpidity.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
In the year 1872, through the medium of the Natural History columns of “The Field,” a series of observations were made by naturalists in different parts of England on the subject of “Our Summer Migrants.” A form of calendar was distributed and filled up by each according to his opportunities. In this way, by the end of the year six hundred and forty-five separate observations were placed on record, and it devolved upon me to prepare a report from the statistics so furnished. As a good deal of interesting information was thus brought to light, it occurs to me that I may appropriately bring the present volume to a close by extracting so much of the report as relates strictly to the subject matter in hand, and I accordingly do so.
In the calendars returned, some thirty species of summer migratory birds are mentioned with more or less frequency. The majority of the observations upon them have reference, as might be supposed, to the dates of their arrival and departure, or, more correctly speaking, to the dates when they were first heard or seen and last observed. When referring some time previously to the utilization of such observations, it was remarked that upon various points some addition to our knowledge was desirable. Amongst other interesting facts, for example, might be ascertained the precise line of direction in which various species migrate, the causes which necessitate a divergence from this line, the relative proportions in which different species visit us, the causes which influence the abundance or scarcity of a species in particular localities, the result of too great a preponderance of one species over another, whether beneficial or otherwise to man as a cultivator of the soil, the simultaneity or otherwise of departure from this country in autumn, the causes operating to retard such departure, and so forth. All these are matters of interest, especially to those who reside in the country, and have leisure to inquire into the subject. Let us see how far the observations supplied furnish a reply to these inquiries.
Of the thirty species of migrants mentioned, the Swallow, as might be supposed, has attracted the largest share of attention, and in regard to the number of observations made upon it stands at the head of the list with forty-three. The Cuckoo comes next with thirty-eight; the Chiff-chaff and Swift follow with thirty and thirty respectively; and so on through the list, as given below, to the Reed Warbler, upon which bird, strange to say, no more than three observations were made.
The following list will give some idea of the amount of attention which each bird received.
| Swallow | 43 |
| Cuckoo | 38 |
| Chiff-chaff | 30 |
| Swift | 30 |
| Willow Wren | 29 |
| Sandmartin | 27 |
| Whitethroat | 26 |
| Blackcap | 25 |
| Redstart | 25 |
| Flycatcher | 24 |
| Landrail | 24 |
| Nightingale | 23 |
| Martin | 23 |
| Tree Pipit | 21 |
| Sedge Warbler | 17 |
| Yellow Wagtail | 16 |
| Wryneck | 16 |
| Nightjar | 16 |
| Wheatear | 15 |
| Whinchat | 15 |
| Lesser Whitethroat | 14 |
| Grasshopper Warbler | 12 |
| Turtle Dove | 10 |
| Common Sandpiper | 10 |
| Wood Wren | 9 |
| Pied Flycatcher | 9 |
| Red-backed Shrike | 9 |
| Garden Warbler | 8 |
| Reed Warbler | 3 |
| Various | 78 |
| 645 |
The first Swallow was seen, not as might be supposed in the south or south-east of England, but four miles south of Glasgow, on the 2nd of March, and Mr. Robert Gray states that this is the earliest record of its arrival in Scotland. It is, indeed, an exceptionally early arrival, for nearly a month expired before another was seen at Cromer, on the 31st of the same month, and six weeks elapsed between the first and second appearance of the bird in Scotland. On the 1st April, with a S.E. wind, this harbinger of spring arrived at Great Cotes, in Lincolnshire, and on the 3rd of that month was noticed simultaneously at Nottingham and Taunton. From the 6th of April the arrival of Swallows was pretty general until the 13th, when they were first noticed in Ireland at Ballina, co. Mayo, and on the following day at Glasnevin, Dublin, and at Bray, in the county of Wicklow. The temperature then at Bray was 53°, and the wind S.W. In these localities and dates there is nothing to indicate anything like a precise line of immigration; on the contrary, the birds first appeared where they were least expected. The prevalence of gales, however, at that particular season doubtless operated to retard their progress, and induced them to linger about sheltered localities where food could be obtained. Mr. Wm. Jeffery, who is well situated for observation on the Sussex coast, between the downs and the sea, remarked that most of the spring migrants were several days later than usual in their arrival, and the Swallow in particular not only came later, but lingered longer than is its wont in his neighbourhood. A single bird of this species was seen by him, flying round a steam threshing-machine, on the 10th of December. “Whether it had been disturbed,” he says, “from hybernation in the oatrick which was being threshed, or only attracted by the warmth from the engine, I cannot say. It flew very weakly, and was not long seen.”
On the 2nd of November, with the temperature at 45·5°, and the wind W., the species was still in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, and on the 13th November, during cold weather, two were seen on the beach at Exmouth. I may here remark that but little attention is paid to the time of departure of a species compared to that which is given to the date of its arrival.