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The regions lying north of the British Isles throughout Europe 

 and Asia, including the Arctic, form the breeding grounds of large 

 numbers of migratory species, many of which winter with us ; 

 but in the Antarctic regions there are no suitable breeding grounds, 

 except for Penguins and Petrels, consequently South Africa receives 

 no migrants from the far south as it does from the northern 

 countries. Many of our summer migrants, when they leave this 

 country in the autumn on their southward journey, cross the tropics 

 to winter in South Africa, where insect food is freely obtainable, 



There are certain facts regarding migration which are both 

 remarkable and perplexing to our minds. What sense is it which 

 guides birds so unerringly for such distances ? Many species travel 

 for several thousands of miles, while some of the waders, such as 

 the knot and sanderling, migrate so far south from their northern 

 breeding haunts in the arctic that the journeys undertaken by these 

 birds extend for eight, nine, or even ten thousand miles. The 

 autumnal migratory period for each species occupies about a month. 

 Astonishing as it may appear, it is a well recognised fact that, as a 

 rule, it is the young birds — or birds of the year — which are the 

 first to migrate (but there are exceptions to this rule, such as the 

 cuckoo). After a few days the adult males, having completed their 

 autumnal moult, take their departure, and the adult females follow. 

 In the return spring migration the order is somewhat reversed. 

 The first to arrive are adult males, followed by the adult females, 

 and the birds of the year arrive last. At each season the stragglers 

 eti mute are found to be crippled birds, which arrive last of all. 



That many birds lose their way, or, rather, are driven out of 

 their course by violent storms, there can be no doubt, for, from 

 time to time, at a certain season, both American and Asiatic species 

 arrive on the British shores ; these are classed as accidental visitors. 

 As regards the ' North American birds which occasionally arrive 

 here, there are those which breed in the Arctic, and, passing on 

 south to winter quarters, meet with westerly gales and are driven 

 across the north Atlantic, and usually reach the Norwegian coast, 

 wheia they then make their way southward, and arrive on the 

 eastern shores of Britain, and, following the seaboard, reach the 

 southern and south-western limits of England. 



When migrating there is little doubt that birds are capable of 

 flying, and do fly, at a much greater elevation than is generally 

 supposed. There are many authentic instances placed on record. 

 For example : An observer (Mr. J. Tennant) states that at Eoorkee, 

 on September 23rd, 1875, while looking at the sun through a 

 telescope, he frequently saw birds, apparently kites, pass over its 

 face, some of which were in focus with the sun itself, and therefore 

 must have been several miles high, while the nearest must have 

 been quite a mile above the earth's surface; but these birds were 

 only soaring on the lookout for prey, and not migrating. A still 

 more interesting observation is that recorded by Mr. W. E. D. 



