GOLDEN AND GREY-PLOVERS 366 



north or south according to weather conditions, but the above men- 

 tioned movements had every indication of being migratory, and unless 

 the birds had for some reason altered their course, their northward 

 direction is difficult to explain. In the autumn and early winter large 

 flocks are occasionally heard at night passing over towns. Stevenson 

 gives the dates of noticeable flights over Norwich as August 14th and 

 20th, October 13th and 21st, and November 29th. 1 I have heard 

 them, but not so frequently as other Waders, passing over Cambridge, 

 generally in August, the cries lasting from one to three or four hours. 

 This however cannot, I think, be regarded as indicative of the size 

 of the flocks, as the birds no doubt circle about for some time over 

 the lights. For the same reason it is difficult to discover the direction 

 of flight. As a rule they appear to be travelling south-west. 



They migrate by day as well as by night ; a flock, described as 

 consisting of thousands, was seen in the evening of September 18th, 

 1901, at a great height over Dublin Bay ; they circled many times, 

 and then flew vertically down to the slob-lands, where they all imme- 

 diately huddled together, sunk their heads on their shoulders, and 

 assumed a tired attitude. They were watched for an hour, during 

 which time they did not move or feed. The next day all were 

 gone. 2 



In Ireland the golden-plover is most numerous in the first half of 

 the winter; it is then far more abundant there than in England or 

 Scotland. Immense flocks arrive in October, and for a week or two 

 remain on the coast. They then disperse inland, and are especially 

 numerous on the boggy land and pastures bordering fresh-water lakes, 

 and only return to the shore in frosty weather. If severe frost sets 

 in they vanish southwards, but in open weather they remain until 

 the middle of December, after which time only small scattered flocks 

 are seen. 3 



During the winter, if the weather is mild and open, the golden- 



1 Birds of Norfolk, ii. p. 75. * Patten, Aquatic Birds, p. 226. 



3 Aquatic Birds, p. 226 ; and also Payne-Gallwey, The Fowler in Ireland, p. 182. 



