12 STUDIES IN BIRD-MIGRATION 



numerous were the Starlings composing some of these 

 bands that when first observed in the distance they 

 resembled dark clouds, and formed a conspicuous con- 

 trast to the leaden, white-crested billows. The elements 

 contributed to the singularity of the scene. The 

 weather, which had been fine up to 9 a.m., rapidly 

 changed, and by noon it had become, in nautical 

 parlance, a " dirty day " — a character which it main- 

 tained to the end. The rain, which fell steadily at first, 

 became a downpour, and finally torrential. Indeed, so 

 rain-laden did the atmosphere become, that it was 

 necessary to sound the fog-horn, whose hideous yells 

 added a weird accompaniment quite in harmony with a 

 scene which, apart from its intense interest to a natural- 

 ist, was dismal and depressing in the extreme. The 

 wind, too, had been gradually rising, and by 3 p.m. had 

 increased to a "strong breeze" with a velocity of 34 

 miles an hour. There were squalls at intervals, which 

 lashed the rain against my face with such violence as 

 to cause the skin to tingle for a considerable time. 

 How the migrants braved such a passage was truly 

 surprising. How they escaped becoming waterlogged 

 in such a deluge of wind-driven rain was a mystery. 

 Yet on they sped, hour after hour, never deviating for a 

 moment from their course, and hugging the very surface 

 of the waves, as if to avoid as much as possible the 

 effects of the high beam wind. It was surely migration 

 under the maximum of discomfort and hardship, indeed 

 under conditions that approached the very verge of 

 disaster for the voyagers. 



It is probable that the birds would not have quitted 

 the Continent had these later conditions prevailed at 

 the hour of their departure. That they did not do so 



