Country Life
MIGRATION DISCOVERIES.
THE autumnal migration is in full activity and obvious to us all. It is still, as of old, a deep mystery ; but thanks to those neat little altuninium rings which Mr. Witherby and others have persuaded us to fix to the legs of nestlings, we are steadily penetrating some of the secrets. More of us might take trouble to join the band of inquirers. British naturalists have found out a great deal since the War by the ringing method, but the Germans have found out more. Doubtless a part of the reason is that they have the benefit of the stork, a lusty migrant easy to observe at all stages. He nests friendlily on the houses. He is visible in the air, even at night if the moon is up ; and he is so big that his dead body is often found. The list of distant places that he reaches at the end of his journey from Germany is now long enough to give us a complete graph of his movements. British observers in Rhodesia have been able to report a certain number of these ringed arrivals from Germany ; others have been reported from Damascus. News from Africa is even more important to British than to German naturalists. It should be possible to make a more definite endeavour to associate African—especially West African—and British naturalists in this work. If a little more publicity were given through certain districts of Africa to the value of these rings, it is probable that more would be re- covered. The ringers have to cast a great deal of bread upon the waters before so much as a crumb is returned. Incidentally most crumbs have come back from the west shore of Portugal and the South of France.
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