38 J. E. LITTLEBOT — THE MIGEATION OF BIEDS. 



to four points of the wind. ... If the wind changes during the 

 actual passage, birds will change the direction of their flight to 

 suit the wind. ... If subsequent observations should prove the 

 correctness of this rule, it will go far to account for all the irregu- 

 larities of migration — the ' why ' birds are seen in great numbers 

 in one year in any locality, and perhaps absent altogether in 

 following seasons." An absolutely favourable wind "ruffles their 

 feathers and chills them, while an absolutely contrary wind, if too 

 strong, impedes their progress." 



A large proportion of the migrants which visit England in the 

 spring reach our coast by crossing the sea, in a direct line, from 

 France and Belgium ; others follow a more northerly track and 

 strike our eastern counties, after crossing from the shores of 

 Holland. Spring migration appears to be conducted in a leisurely 

 and deliberate fashion ; there are none of the impetuous rushes that 

 distinguish autumnal flights. Migrants frequently remain for many 

 days in succession at favourite halting-places. Those which nest 

 in England return to their accustomed haunts, and become our 

 summer migrants, while others pursue their way onwards to more 

 northern homes. These facts are strictly in accord with the theoiy 

 of migration which I have attempted to advocate. We flee from 

 impending danger with all the energy of our natures. We pursue 

 the path of pleasure with a light and easy step, and linger lovingly 

 over the many attractions of the way. In the spring, male birds 

 generally migrate in advance of their mates — this is notoriously the 

 case with the nightingale — and migration takes place, with rare 

 exceptions, at night. Mr. John H. Gurney, jun., has selected the 

 wheatear as ofi'ering a representative example of the manner in 

 which insessorial birds arrive on the coast of Sussex. I extract the 

 following from ' The Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich 

 Naturalists' Society:'* — "About the middle of March the first 

 wheatear makes its appearance, and is sure to be a male ; a week 

 or two later, there are quantities of them, another week and not 

 a bird is to be seen. At the end of April you may see a few pairs 

 settling themselves down at long intervals to nest. These are the 

 resident birds, which do not number a hundredth part of what are 

 seen on passage. Waders and ducks arrive much later than the 

 Insessores." A little marsh about 300 yards from the sea, in the 

 neighbourhood of St. Leonards, is described by Mr. Gurney as 

 " a paradise for tired waders." Here, redshanks, sandpipers, god- 

 wits, stints, turnstones, and many other species find a temporary 

 resting-place ; the length of their visit depending, apparently, on 

 atmospheric conditions. Respecting spring migration in Lincoln- 

 shire, Mr. Cordeaux writes to me as follows : — " The lines of migra- 

 tion followed by the insessorial birds are undoubtedly both from 

 south to north and from S.E. to N.W. The cuckoo invariably 

 comes, year by year, from the south-east, and gradually spreads 

 westward and northward. On this coast, willow-wrens, white- 



* Vol. iii, p. 171. 



