106 THE STARLINGS 



visiting the coast and elsewhere. They grow into larger flocks, young and old, 

 which wander in search of food, and later of a winter abode, many resorting to 

 the west and south of Great Britain and Ireland. To what extent our resident 

 birds remain in or near their breeding haunts during the winter has yet to be 

 ascertained. (2) Migration from and to West and Central Europe ; arrival in autumn 

 and departure in spring. Vast numbers come across the southern waters of the 

 North Sea by a more or less direct east-to-west passage and appear on the coast 

 of England from the Humber southward. The immigration continues from the last 

 week of September to early in November and even later, and takes place chiefly 

 during the daytime, not infrequently lasting from dawn till dusk. Many of these 

 birds whiter in various parts of England, many again pass along our southern shores, 

 some to diverge south across the Channel on their way to S.-W. Europe, others to 

 pass north to Ireland, which they enter by way of Wexford in large numbers. The 

 return movement is very little in evidence as compared with the arrival. It takes 

 place from mid-February to the end of March. (3) Migration to and from North-west 

 Europe ; arrival in autumn and departure in spring. The birds that reach us from the 

 north-west arrive in a series of " rushes " on our east coast from Shetland to Humber, 

 and even further south, and so overlapping the east-to-west migration already 

 described. The immigration continues from early October to mid-November, thus 

 occurring slightly later than the east-to-west. The birds arrive during the late hours 

 of the night and early morning in company with various Thrushes, Finches, and 

 other species and spread west and south. Some reach the Hebrides and others of 

 the Western Isles, some go to Ireland, which they reach from the west or north-east, 

 either after travelling down the western seaboard of Scotland, or from the Galloway 

 coast, after an overland flight across N. Britain. Some again descend the east, and 

 to a lesser extent the west, coast of England, finally crossing the Channel to S.-W. 

 Europe. There are, therefore, among the immigrants both from North Europe and 

 from Central Europe birds of passage which skirt our shores on their way to the same 

 destination. The return movement of the northern birds, whether winter visitors 

 or birds of passage, takes place between mid-March and the end of April, beginning, 

 therefore, about a month later than the east and west emigration. The Irish birds 

 are an exception to this rule, as they begin to move north as early as mid-February. 

 The return, like the arrival, is by night, thus offering a marked contrast to the 

 east and west migration, which is performed by day. (4) Migration from and to 

 South Europe ; arrival in spring and departure in autumn. In the latter part of 

 February to early April immigrant starlings come from their whiter quarters in 



