THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.
7
Edward Hart of Christchurch helps to confirm it by recording three
young Swallows flying around the buildings at Christchurch on
January 8th and 9th.11 Other "Field" records of winter Swallows
are one at East Barnet on Dec. 20th, 1863. Mr. P. O. Papillon
saw one at Lexden Manor, Colchester, on Dec. 22nd and 23rd,
1868, and one was seen at Bradfield St. George, Suffolk, on Dec.
24th. One was seen at Penzance on Dec. 19th, 1877. Sand
Martins were seen at Dawlish on Dec. 26th, 1877, and House Mar-
tins as late as Jan. 2nd and 3rd, 1878. Martins were seen at Col-
chester on Dec. 23rd, 1870. How extremely interesting it would be
to learn what becomes of these presumably pitilessly deserted birds ;
do they perish ? Dr. Bree's record12 of a Swallow nesting and laying
three eggs in an old barn within a mile of Walton-on-Naze in the
beginning of December, 1866, is still more remarkable.
This hybernation theory still lingers ; and although Mr. Harting
does not accept it, in his "Summer Migrants," under the heading of
the Landrail, he reprints a long account in support thereof, contri-
buted to the "Zoologist"13 by Mr. Harry Blake-Knox of Dalkey,
Dublin, who says, "Somehow I cannot divest myself of the belief
that the Corncrake hibernates, &c." Certainly many records of
the Landrail in winter are extant. Dr. Bree records14 how he
kept three Landrails through the winter of 1864-5 in his garden
at Colchester ; two met with casualties, but the third throve till
May, "grew quite fat and cared nothing for frost nor snow;" they
never attempted to hibernate. On Nov. 27th, 1889, a Landrail
from Essex was presented to the Zoological Society's Gardens,
Regent's Park, by Mr. Bibby. I am sorry I cannot tell you
whether it has hybernated or migrated, or whether it is still enjoying
itself in the Gardens.
Migration is no longer a disputed fact. All are familiar with it
in the bird world, and it has long been known amongst fish, notably
the salmon, eel, herring, and mackerel, who migrate in search of a suit-
able place in which to spawn. Many land animals, as the reindeer,
lemming, squirrel, &c., are known to migrate, and lately we have
come to look upon it as an important factor in insect distribution.
The migration of winged insects may be, like that of many birds,
involuntary, but it really seems doubtful whether this is quite suffi-
11 "Field," Feb. 1, 1890, p. 158.
12 "Field," Jan. 12, 1867, p. 34.
13 "Zoologist," 2nd series, vol. ii. pp. 678-680.
14 "Field," June 3rd, 1865, p. 384 ; see Dr. Bree's further remarks, "Field," April 13, 1867,
p. 275.