THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS 



one should note), who arrive from the south in 

 spring, nest and breed within our bounds, and 

 return in late summer or autumn " to warmer lands 

 and coasts that keep the sun." 



(2) Against these we have to place the winter 

 visitors, such as fieldfare and redwing, both first 

 cousins of the thrush, the snow bunting, and many 

 of the northern ducks and divers, who nest in the 

 far north, but come south in winter. 



(3) In a set by themselves we may rank the birds - 

 of-passage in the stricter sense, like some of the 

 sandpipers, the great snipe, and the little stint. 

 They rest, for a short time only, in a country like 

 Britain, on their way farther south or farther north. 



(4) Then there are the " partial migrants," who 

 are always represented in the country in question, 

 but not always by the same individuals. That is to 

 say, some individuals leave the country and others 

 do not ; and the place of those who go is often taken 

 by other individuals from elsewhere. Thus in 

 many parts of Scotland one may see lapwings every 

 month of the year, and yet there is a regular autumn 

 migration of lapwings from Scotland to Ireland. 

 There are always goldfinches to be found in the 

 South of England, but there is a regular migration 

 southwards in October and a corresponding return 

 in April. Recent work has shown that the list of 

 " partial migrants " is a long one longer than used 

 to be thought. 



(5 ) There remain the strictly resident birds such 

 as, in Britain, the red grouse and the house sparrow, 

 the rook and the robin. 



145 K 



