490 SANDPIPERS AND RELATED SPECIES 



Apparently a few birds have been known to occur in the British 

 Isles even in the winter months, but the vast majority cross 

 the Mediterranean into Africa, and in January the return migra- 

 tion across the Straits of Gibraltar has already begun. From 

 this time onward small parties of ruffs are occasionally to be 

 met with in Southern Spain, and the passage has not ceased till the 

 end of May, though most birds cross in April. Meantime other 

 migratory parties are making their way north by way of Sardinia, 

 Sicily, Malta, the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas, etc. Migration is 

 apparently carried on by night, and, according to Naumann, the first 

 birds to arrive are the young of the preceding year. These are 

 followed by the adult males, and last of all come the old hens. 

 Naumann's dates of arrival must apparently be taken to refer to 

 birds breeding in the high north, for he speaks of the first comers 

 reaching their breeding-grounds towards the end of April, the old 

 males at the beginning of May, and the old females riot before mid- 

 May. Yet in Jylland, still farther north, I have seen a reeve 

 incubating on May 12th, and in Holland full clutches may be found 

 on May 10th, and the " hills " are occupied by the middle of April. 



On their first arrival in Southern Europe the males are still in 

 winter plumage, and lack the ornaments from which they take their 

 name. They are, however, easily distinguished from the females or 

 reeves by their superior size. From observations made on birds in 

 confinement, it appears that about the end of March the feathers at 

 the sides of the neck and on the head are shed rapidly, and are 

 almost at once replaced by the new ones, which ultimately form 

 the ruff and occipital tufts. The whole process lasts about five weeks, 

 but in the young birds the ruff is less perfect than in the older males. 

 It is of course quite possible that in a wild state the change is 

 effected in a shorter space of time. Some birds have certainly 

 attained their full development by the middle of April in Holland. 

 Descriptions alone give little idea of the enormous range of colouring 

 among these birds. It is quite a common occurrence to come across 



