An interesting reply to a query about the migration and
flight of the corncrake comes from an Irish correspondent, General Higginson. He writes : " Many years ago I was partridge shooting in Co. Kildare, on one of the foothills up the Wicklow mountains. In those days partridge shooting did not begin till September 20th. From where we were shooting we could see right across Co. Kildare to Edenderry Castle in King's County. We put up a corncrake which, instead of ` flopping' off in the usual way, flew round and round in circles, rising all the time ; when it had risen to a great height, it started off in the direction of Edenderry, and was still flying strong when it left our sight. I think corncrakes are more numerous in Ireland than in England, they arrive almost every year on April 23rd or 24th, and if they are flushed soon after they arrive, they are quite as strong on ihe wing as a cock. The ` floppy ' business begins, I think, when they have paired."
W. REAM THOMAS.
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