292 BRITISH SEA, BES: 
feathered hosts pour in; the bulk of the migrants 
being composed of such birds as Starlings, Larks, 
Goldcrests, Thrushes, Finches, Rooks, and Crows. 
Some idea of their numbers may be gained from 
the fact that these waves of birds often strike 
our coast-line simultaneously, north to south, for 
hundreds of miles. Waves of Goldcrests have 
extended from the Farées to the English Channel ; 
Larks for weeks have poured in, in successive 
waves, by day and night. The Hooded Crow is 
another species that crosses the North Sea in 
myriads every autumn. This bird prefers to 
migrate by day, and appears to do the journey 
across in an astonishing short time. Starlings, 
again, often migrate across in a succession of 
clouds, which defy all attempts to estimate their 
numbers. This migration of birds, say, on the 
coasts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, is one of 
the most fascinating sights the shore can yield. 
To be out by dawn on the crisp October mornings, 
and to watch the vast inrush of birds to the 
English coast for hour after hour, is a treat no 
lover of birds can fail to appreciate. Here and 
there the sea-banks and the rough saltings are 
strewn with birds skulking and resting amongst 
the grass, or in the hedges, that have made the 
passage of the North Sea during the previous 
night, and are soon about to pass inland. Tired 
Woodcocks rise reluctantly from the dry grass 
in the hedge bottoms; Hooded Crows, in com- 
