xiv MIGRATION 353 



incapable of flying great distances. Indeed there is little, 

 if any, foundation for the old idea that the big birds 

 carried the small, though it is imaginable that a tired 

 Goldcrest might alight upon a Goose's back as he does 

 upon a ship. The Sanderling, a frequenter of our 

 sandy shores in autumn, is only eight inches in length. 

 The Knot, a common bird on the estuaries and mud- 

 flats of our east coast, measures ten inches. The 

 Turnstone, which may be seen feeding among the 

 seaweed in May, on its way north, and in August 

 or September on its way south, is only a little larger 

 than the Sanderling. The Nightingale is not so great 

 a traveller, but he is known to go as far south as 

 Abyssinia. The Blackcap often nests as far north 

 as lat. 66° in Scandinavia, and winters down in 

 Abyssinia or Gambia. 



In the great north and south migration it will 

 be seen that some birds merely rest upon our shores 

 as they pass from one of their residences to the other. 

 The Little Stint, besides the three just mentioned, 

 the Sanderling, the Knot, and the Turnstone, is one of 

 those which use the British Isles merely as a hostelry. 

 The Whimbrel, often known as the Maybird, because 

 of its punctual appearance in that month, might 

 almost be put in the same class. But though its 

 travels are never ended till it has passed Great 

 Britain and Ireland, its nest may sometimes be found 

 in the Orkneys or Shetlands. 



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