On Moorlands and RoitoJis. 7)7 



stone grit, the slopes below them studded with 

 boulders of varying size right down to the stream. 

 In some parts the soil is deep and peaty, almost 

 black; in others it is scanty, and the bed-rocks peep 

 through the stone-strewn ground, where the sturdy 

 ling and wire-like bilberry have a hard struggle to 

 maintain themselves. Roughly speaking, each de- 

 scription of moorland ground has its own peculiar 

 birds. Some species there are, it is true, that distri- 

 bute themselves more or less universally throughout 

 the moorlands, but others are confined to well-de- 

 fined limits. Then, again, these moors are inhabited 

 by two very distinct avifaunas — a limited one which 

 is practically sedentary, and a more extensive one 

 composed entirely of migratory species. As might 

 naturally be expected, the birds that can exist upon 

 these bleak storm-swept moorlands during winter 

 are extremely few; possibly we might reduce the 

 number to a single species, and even this is occasion- 

 ally partially driven from its heathy haunts by the 

 inclemency of the northern winter. Of the avine 

 visitors that flock to the moors each recurring spring- 

 time, and just as surely depart in autumn, there are 

 close upon thirty species — a goodly list, and which 

 is slightly increased by a few passing migrants. 

 From this it will be seen that these uplands, with 

 their universal reputation for barrenness, are by no 

 means devoid of bird-life, and that in summer espe- 



