BRITISH ISLES AND THEIR MIGRATORY RIRDS 35 



Central Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and other islands 

 in the Arctic Ocean. These hardy northern races find 

 the climatic conditions of the British Islands sufficiently 

 genial to afford cold-weather retreats, and remain with 

 us through the winter months. On the return of 

 spring they leave us, to repair to their native haunts 

 to nest. These winter visitors number over one hundred 

 species, and include such northern forms as the Field- 

 fare, Brambling, Short-eared Owl, various species of 

 Duck, Geese, and Swans, some Gulls, and many 

 Waders ; while from Central Europe, as well as from 

 the north, come numerous Rooks, Starlings, Tree 

 Sparrows, Skylarks, Lapwings, etc. 



Birds of Passage.^ — Though they are far and away 

 the most numerous class of migrants that visit our 

 shores, the birds of passage are less familiar than either 

 the summer or the winter visitors. This is due to the 

 fact that they do not remain long with us, and are 

 chiefly confined to the coast and its vicinity during their 

 sojourn, and consequently they do not come under the 

 notice of those who are not specially interested in bird- 

 movements. They are birds which have their nesting 

 haunts chiefly in the vast regions lying to the north of 

 the British area, and their winter quarters to the south 

 of us ; while a number are natives of Central Europe. 

 They appear on and traverse our shores in spring, when 

 en route for their summer homes, and again in the 

 autumn, when returning to winter retreats. During 

 these visits they do not, as a rule, tarry long with us, 

 especially in the spring, but make our shores a sort of 

 half-way house, where they rest and refresh themselves 



* For a list of the British Birds of Passage, with an indication of their 

 summer and winter quarters, see page 55. 



