WHERE OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS SPEND THE 

 WINTER. 



THE season for the arrival of the birds which charm us with 

 their presence during the Summer will soon be here, and it is 

 especially interesting just now to notice where these varieties pass 

 the Winter months. There are many people who never think fit 

 to enquire where our feathered friends wing their way to as Sep- 

 tember draws near, and yet they often wonder where they do go 

 to, and know full well that they do leave us, the theory or belief 

 in Gilbert White's day that they hybernated in the holes of rocks 

 and caves, having been by this time entirely exploded. Surely 

 it is one of the most marvellous traits in a bird's character ihese 

 migration mysteries and movements and one that is well worth 

 pursuing closely. Taking what I consider to be the regular 

 Summer visitors, and ranging them somewhat in the order in 

 which they appear on our shores, let us see from whence these 

 feathered creatures have come, where they have been for the 

 past six months or so, and whither, when September comes round 

 again, and before then in some instances, they will be going. 



Africa and India are the Winter quarters of the beautiful 

 Spotted Crake, whilst the Ring Ouzel, or Moor Blackbird, is 

 found at that season in Northern and Central Africa and Asia 

 Minor. The Wheatear ranges in Winter from Western and 

 Northern Africa to Persia and Northern India, a more extensive 

 range than the two last named varieties. Temperate Europe, 

 Northern Africa and South-Western Asia claim the Stone Curlew, 

 or Norfolk Plover, during the time we are mourning its loss, 

 although a few individuals are stated to be found with us 

 throughout the year. The delicate little Chiff Chaff the Herald 

 of Spring spends the Winter on the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 and the Yellow Wagtail brings us back to Africa again. The 

 Swallow tribe are generally regarded as Africans during the 

 English Winter, but they have a much wider distribution, as the 

 Sand Martin is found in India, Africa, and South America; the 

 Swallow passes the Winter in Ethiopia and India, and the House 



