THE MIGRATIONS OF THE STAREING 259 



times perhaps beyond the H umber, A number, too, 

 reach the Atlantic seaboard and the Hebrides, occurring 

 not unfrequently as far west as Sule Skerry and the 

 Flannan and Monach Isles. 



Like other visitors from the north, these immigrant 

 Starlings appear on our shores during the late hours of 

 the night and early hours of the morning ; the other 

 species arriving simultaneously being Redwings, Field- 

 fares, Song-Thrushes, Blackbirds, Ring-Ouzels, Wheat- 

 ears, Hedge-Sparrows, Redbreasts, Wrens, Goldcrests, 

 Redstarts, Bramblings, Siskins, Chaffinches, Skylarks, 

 Short-eared Owls, Snipe, and Woodcock. 



These autumnal immigrations from the north-east 

 are followed by overland movements westwards and 

 southwards in search of winter quarters within the 

 British area : the western, southern, and south-western 

 districts of England, the Hebrides and other western 

 isles, and Ireland affording specially favoured haunts. 

 Ireland is entered from the north and north-east, the 

 birds travelling by way of the Hebrides and the west 

 coast of Scotland, or from the Galloway coast, some of 

 them after an overland flight across northern Britain. 



Autumn Passage from Northern and Central to 

 Southern Eicrope. — Vast numbers of the Starlings which 

 arrive on our shores in the autumn from both Northern 

 and Central Europe do not remain to winter with us, but 

 proceed on passage to retreats in South- Western Europe. 



These passage movements follow (probably at once 

 in the case of the majority of the migrants) the arrival 

 from the Continent, and are in progress from the latter 

 half of September (on the part of the Central European 

 birds) until the third week of November. The course 

 of the birds from the east (Central Europe) has already 



