It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that migration as an explanation for the winter disappearance of birds from northern climes was accepted. Thomas Bewick's A History of British Birds (Volume 1, 1797) mentions a report from "a very intelligent master of a vessel" who, "between the islands of Minorca and Majorca, saw great numbers of Swallows flying northward", and states the situation in Britain as follows: