MOORLAND BIRDS IN AUGUST 181 



descriptive title, being" pale-coloured and conspicuously 

 spotted, which the adults never really are. I am unable 

 to give a date for the withdrawal of the pied flycatchers. 

 Although the adult male in spring- appears to be a 

 conspicuous bird, he is hardly so when in his favourite 

 resort among silver-birches, while the females and young are 

 quite the reverse, and in autumn all moult into a sombre 

 grey dress, most difficult to detect. One utterly loses 

 sight of them after the young are fledged. That occurs 

 by July 20th, and all are probably gone before the end 

 of that month, or early in August. 



The departure of these summer-birds synchronises with 

 the appearance of the earlier autumnal migrants, the dual 

 movement proceeding simultaneously ; since already, in 

 August, several of the northern-breeding species may be 

 expected. 



On the open moorland, however, this movement is not 

 nearly so conspicuous as on the coast : where it is inaugur- 

 ated, often as early as July, by the arrival of the Arctic 

 skuas and whimbrels. These, in August, are followed by 

 flights of godwits, knots, turnstones, and other waders. 

 None of these, as a rule, travel inland, their routes follow- 

 ing the lines of salt water. Whimbrels, however, take cross- 

 country routes. On August 28th, 1 878, a flight settled on a 

 high moss-flowe some 20 miles from the sea ; and on the 

 same date, nine years later, a pack of over one hundred 

 passed overhead close by that spot. They flew in V-form, 

 like wild-geese, calling continuously. These two occur- 

 rences are cited simply for the coincidence of dates ; since, 

 otherwise, the migration of whimbrels may almost be 

 called an everyday sign of the season, whether on moor or 

 sea. Never a year but one may hear that note, loud, 

 clear, and trisyllabic, audible at a mile or more, and one 



