36 STUDIES IN BIRD-MIGRATION 



ere they resume what are in many cases their long and 

 intricate journeys. In the ranks of these birds of 

 passage are to be found the greatest of all bird-travellers, 

 some of which— as the Arctic Tern — all but extend 

 their journeys from pole to pole ; others from Siberia to 

 the utmost limits of Africa — -as the Curlew Sandpiper ; 

 others again, from Northern Europe to Equatorial and 

 Southern Africa — as the Swift, etc. The Curlew Sand- 

 piper is, perhaps, the greatest of all feathered voyagers. 

 This species has its summer haunts in western Siberia, 

 where it nests on the tundras fringing the Arctic Ocean ; 

 yet its winter range extends to Cape Colony, Madagascar, 

 Patagonia, Tasmania, and the Malay Archipelago. To 

 reach these far-off cold-weather retreats, it crosses the 

 lofty Himalayas ; traverses the course of the great rivers 

 of Northern Asia, and of the Volga, Rhone, and Nile, 

 and skirts the coasts of Norway, Britain, Western 

 Europe and Africa, and China. Thus during each 

 year certain Curlew Sandpipers perform journeys equal 

 to a voyage round the world ! Not all travel thus far, 

 for this bird has winter haunts on both sides of the 

 Mediterranean, in Central Africa, on the coasts of 

 India, and in the Philippines. Indeed, in this and 

 not a few other cases, it would seem as if these bird- 

 travellers said (with Wordsworth) : — 



Wings have we, and as far as we can go 

 We may find pleasure. 



The fact that this and other migratory birds cover 

 such extensive areas during the winter indicates that 

 they, and perhaps all migrants, have a much wider 

 range at that season than in summer : they may be 

 more nomadic in winter than at other times. 



The birds of passage are in most cases the latest to 



