108 THE BOOK OF THE OPEN AIR 



tinent, near to each other, from which stant daily total, and fall away again to 

 the Cornish coast affords the shortest sea a dozen or so of exhausted stragglers ; 

 passage. But alas, this is not so, for if but a coast observer notices three, four, 

 Africa is where many of them winter, five, or six distinct armies arriving, con- 

 they also cover India, and Turkey in nected with each other by a stream of 

 Asia, while many other species which lonely stragglers before or behind. The 

 winter solely, so far as we know, in these natural inference is that the birds win- 

 same localities, are accustomed to land tering in each Eastern continent as- 

 further east along our south coast, and semble together and take flight from 

 even prefer to land further east. its shores together. But this idea 

 Again, several other species usually so far lacks proof. Observation has 

 land, or land in greater numbers, west failed to mark down any single army 

 of Southampton, but are not alto- of this character preparing to take 

 gether averse to entering England at wing from any of the known winter- 

 Brighton, or even on the Essex coast, quarters, admitting that our know- 

 Amongst these indecisive travellers, ledge of the ways of birds in these win- 

 the swallow and chiff-chaff are the more tering countries from China to Turkey 

 common, and their winter homes are is small and incomplete. Dissection has 

 India or Ethiopia, and the shores of proved equally futile, though enthu- 

 the Mediterranean, respectively. A siasts have been found to open the 

 further feature of interest is that many stomachs of birds appearing in each 

 species arrive in droves, or so at least flight, in the hopes of identifying insect 

 it would appear. In most species the or other food from the coast of one or 

 time during which specimens are ob- other of the known winter resorts, 

 served arriving from over seas by coast As a rule no food at all is found, the 

 observers, usually covers a period of six bird being in a very weak and starved 

 weeks or two months, say from March condition ; or else the food is so far 

 20, until the first week, or occasionally digested as to be unrecognizable ; or 

 the first fortnight, in May. (There else it is from some neighbouring coun- 

 are well marked exceptions, e.g. all try, where the bird may have rested 

 the redstarts seem to arrive during the before crossing the last neck of sea (it 

 three latter weeks of April.) These must be remembered we are very ig- 

 arrivals do not commence with a few norant of the rate at which small birds 

 isolated heralds, swell out to a con- travel when migrating, and also of 



