Winds on the Fliyht of Gulls and other Birds. 427 



were going in the customary direction^ viz. west^varclsJ against 

 the wind. 



On the 26th of the same October great numbers of Gulls 

 were again flying M^est, as before, and, being desirous of 

 gaining an accurate notion of their numbers, I stood for two 

 hours by my watch on the shore at Overstrand and counted 

 them roughly as they passed. In the first hour, commencing 

 at 3.20 P.M., as near as I can say, about 415 passed ; in the 

 second hour about 315 passed. They were very close to the 

 shore, and consisted of the same species as before, and were 

 nearly all in flocks of from ten to twenty, but Common Gulls 

 preponderated, with many young Herring-Gulls and Black- 

 backs. At 5.30 their regiments were still defiling past as 

 steadily as ever, and every little company took exactly the 

 same course. How long this had been going on it is impos- 

 sible to say, but probably from early in the morning, as the 

 wind had been high, and there is every reason to suppose 

 that they continued passing far into the night. The wind was 

 north-north-west. The next day it was still in tlie same 

 quarter, but there were no Gulls, — for the time they had all 

 passed*. 



The following day, October 28th, the wind shifted to west- 

 north-west and blew hard, and Mr. Cordeaux registered a 

 great flight of Woodcocks. Fresh relays of Gulls had come 

 up and were all going west as before. Probably from 2000 

 to 3000 passed on that day, and pretty nearly 5000 on the 

 26th. It is a speculation in my mind whether those on the 

 28th were the same individuals which passed on the 26th 

 or others. The former theory may be accepted on the 

 supposition that they had occupied the 27th in making the 

 return journey, which would have been in an easterly di- 

 rection, far out to sea ; but in that case they must have gone 

 with tlie wind, which it is quite certain they do not like to 

 do. On the other hand, if they were fresh individuals they 

 had probably come from the shores of Essex and Kent, or 



* Some account of this " migration," and other notes on the same 

 subject, will be found in the Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc. Trans, iv. 

 p. 326, and in the appendix to Rye's ' History of Cromt-r.' 



