Weihaiwei, April 6—It is a well established fact that islands are much favoured havens of rest for migrating birds, and islands such as Heligoland and Capri are famous in Europe as observation posts for bird watchers: that islet known as Shaweishan where the lighthouse stands on the seaward route from Shanghai was much used by the pioneers in our local ornithology, and if it were not so difficult of access many of us would probably use it now. All such matters were, however, out of my mind when T sailed for the island. known as Liukungtao—not a mile from the mainland here—on the eve of the period known as Ching Ming which denotes "Pure Brightness": it was indeed a pure bright day with brilliant sunshine on the calm blue waters, and I little thought I should si what I did see. For days past I had been e pecting to see Hoopoes, those beautiful bird whose call is exactly described by their name but I had searched the hills in vain. Rising on the morning after my arrival in the island, J found there were scores of hoopoes flitting about in the gardens, alighting to feed and opening and shutting their fanlike crests after the manner of a cockatoo: the pine trees full of little squeaking titmice, while thrushes were foraging n the lower scrub: larks rose at every corner and it was obvious that the island was full of bird-life. Then the weather suddenly changed great grey clouds rolled up; a gale of wind came up from the north-west and snow, that enemy of all aviators, fell quite heavily! A wedge of geese a quarter of a mile long drove across the stormy sky in perfect formation bound due north, but the smaller birds stuck closely to their sanctuary. And this was the day of Ching Ming! All of which goes to show that if you are a small bird you do not consult a calendar....you scent the weather from afar, and dash for the nearest island,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.