200 WITH THE WIND. 



speaking of their migratious from the interior to the 

 coast prior to leaving the country, be equally applicable 

 to the Woodcock, it does not seem to be always the case ; 

 for the flight of these birds (the Thrushes) is then, he 

 says, " always iji the very teeth of the tvind, and, in 

 preference, Avhen it is blowing hard." And Ekstrom is 

 not alone in entertaining the theory, if such it can be 

 called, of some birds of passage at least flying against the 

 wind; for others tells us that " birds, if they can possibly 

 avoid it, never take long flights loith the tclnd, because 

 their covering feathers then become ruffled, which incon- 

 veniences them ; and their wings, moreover, are so 

 depressed by the pressure of the air, that their fliglit 

 is rather impeded than faciliated." 



In further corroboration of Ekstrom's theory, we have 

 the evidence of the keeper of the light-house at Landsort — 

 in the neighbourhood of Stockholm — which stands at au 

 elevation of 148 feet above the sea : — " Of the numerous 

 birds of passage that during migration fly on dark and 

 misty nights against the ,' Lantern,' one and all strike it 

 on the lee side.'" * 



In concluding these few observations on the migratory 

 habits of the Woodcock, I Avould remark, that it is neces- 

 sity, not choice, that compels these birds, on the ap])roach 

 of winter, to leave their summer abode in the cold North 

 ibr more genial climes. Their chief food, as shown, con- 

 sists of worms, small beetles, &c., the breeding and 

 existence of which are dependent on the state of the 

 weather. On the coming of the frost, these retire to 



■"' He furtlier mentions that " on two several occasions Eider Ducks 

 liave flown -witli such force against the glass — at least two-tenths of an inch 

 in thickness — as to smash it to pieces, and to force their way into the 

 ' Lantern ' itself, where by their fluttering they broke several glasses 

 and injured the mirrors ; but died shortly afterwards from the injuries they 

 hail received." 



