MOVEMENTS OF LONDON BIRDS 133 



cold and wet, may be rewarded by hearing far- 

 off shrill delicate noises of straggling sandpipers 

 or other shore birds on passage, or the mysterious 

 cry of the lapwing, ' wailing his way from cloud 

 to cloud.' 



All these rare sights and sounds are for the 

 very patient watchers and listeners ; neverthe- 

 less they are the only ' authentic tidings '' the 

 Londoner receives of that great and wonderful 

 wave of life which travels southward over half 

 the globe in advance of winter. This annual 

 exodus and sublime flight to distant delectable 

 regions beyond the sea is, however, only taken 

 part in by some of the feathered people ; mean- 

 while the others that remain to brave the cold 

 and scarcity are also seen to be infected with a 

 restless spirit and desire of change. The starling, 

 missel-thrush, larks and pipits, and other kinds, 

 alter their way of life, uniting in flocks and 

 becoming wanderers over the face of the country. 

 Finches, too, go a-gypsying : the more sedentary 

 species leave their breeding-haunts for suitable 

 winter quarters ; and everywhere there is a great 

 movement, a changing of places, packing and 

 scattering, a hurrying to and fro all over the 

 land. 



