APRIL. 55 



earlier ; but subsequent progress had been much 

 slower. Indeed, it seemed more than possible that 

 this country, especially the western half, would have 

 far fewer summer visitors this year than usual. When 

 the wind blows from the south-east in spring we get 

 more than our fair share of birds ; and some, such as 

 nightingales, are carried to districts further west than 

 their usual breeding-places. In such years their song 

 may be heard many miles beyond the " nightingale 

 line." When, however, the wind blows persistently 

 from the west, shifting now and then to north-west, 

 the birds are carried eastward, and many that would 

 otherwise have nested in Britain make their summer 

 homes in Denmark and Scandinavia. Similarly, so 

 far as Britain itself is concerned, the direction of the 

 wind determines whether the surplus of bird-life shall 

 gravitate towards the east coast or the west. 



REGULAR TRAVELLERS. 



At the same time the regularity with which suc- 

 cessive waves of the floating population of birds pass 

 over the same spots in autumn and in spring is 

 remarkable, no matter in what quarter the wind may 

 lie. These are mostly the young birds of the previous 

 summer, which drifted southwards in flocks as winter 

 advanced from the north, and are now following its 

 retreat northwards by the same stages. Thus at the 

 end of March the same marsh pastures, which had 

 been filled with multitudes of starlings for a while in 

 autumn, were once more dotted all over with crowds 

 of birds, gabbling and gobbling after each other, 

 although our own resident starlings had neither 



