114 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



ward movements of birds we cannot easily leave out the 

 northward ; but in making" observations on this subject it is 

 practically necessary to compare the spring and autumn migra- 

 tions, though here it is intended to deal chiefly with those of 

 the autumn months. The latter are for many reasons much 

 more easily and accurately observable than those of the spring. 

 In the autumn there is a larger number of birds on the move, 

 and many are immature, and have, of course, never before 

 braved a lengthy flight. In the spring, however, every north- 

 ward-journeying bird is one which has proved victor in a long 

 flight, and, moreover, is an individual which has taken care of 

 itself and survived the non-breeding season. Thus it is that 

 with many far-journeying species fewer are observed in the 

 spring than in the autumn. Few mistakes are made by spring 

 migrant birds compared with autumn migrants, as far as the 

 right direction of their course is concerned. Nearly every 

 autumn we have proof of this in the occurrence of some 

 American species crossing the Atlantic ocean to our islands, 

 such, for instance, as the pectoral sandpiper. Although in 

 spring we seldom hear of mistakes made in the line of flight of 

 migrants, yet we are told by a late learned ornithologist that 

 he observed in high northern latitudes geese flying southwards 

 when they should have been going north, and it was his 

 opinion that in their eagerness to reach their breeding homes 

 they had " overshot the mark," and were obliged to turn back, 

 no doubt on account of their homes being frozen up. Many 

 such instances of what might be termed fairly reasonable proof 

 of errors made by migratory birds might be cited, but space 

 will not allow. 



All migratory birds are subject to mistakes of some kind or 

 other, which at times prove very disastrous to large numbers 

 of them ; but what I wish to impress is that the spring migra- 

 tion of birds seems to take place without such conspicuous 

 error. Likewise, the spring migrants being physically better 



