THE BRITISH ISLES: WINTER 165 



Skylarks, Meadow - Pipits, Ring - Doves, Lapwings, 

 Golden Plover, Woodcock, Snipe, Dunlin, Curlew, etc. 

 (and in some seasons even Rooks, Magpies, and Snow 

 Buntings), remove themselves from its baneful influence, 

 numbers of them Hitting during the hours of darkness, 

 when, as Longfellow has observed, we 



Hear the beat 



Of their pinions fleet, 



As from the land of snow and sleet 



They seek a southern lea. 



Sometimes suitable retreats may be found near at hand, 

 and then the movement is but of a local nature. When 

 this is the case, and the period of stress is short, the 

 evicted birds, or some of them, soon return to their 

 usual haunts. Should, however, these adverse condi- 

 tions prove severe and the area affected widespread, 

 the movements assume like proportions, and the refugees 

 are many. On such occasions the milder conditions 

 usually afforded by the coast are sought, especially our 

 western sea-board and its off-lying islands, including 

 even the far-off Flannans, and some of the emi^rrants 

 seek asylums in Ireland. If the cold be exceptionally 

 severe and general over the British area, and its pre- 

 valence seriously prolonged, and should it be accom- 

 panied by heavy falls of snow, then a great exodus 

 follows, and the numbers of the fugitives become vast 

 and surprising. The movements are again chiefly 

 towards the coast : along the east and west shores 

 the fleeing birds rush southwards to reach south- 

 western England and Ireland, where more genial condi- 

 tions usually, but not always, prevail ; while many cross 

 the English Channel for Southern Europe. Many also 

 pursue an overland course in a southerly direction, and 



I. L 2 



