METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS 81 



the other hand, cases very frequently occur where birds, under the 

 presentiment of approaching adverse weather, appear to travel in 

 advance of it. 



To this category belong the enormous multitudes of Larks, 

 Golden Plovers, Lapwings, Common Curlews, and Dunlins, which, 

 during the nights of the earlier winter months, make their appear- 

 ance long after the expiration of the normal time of migration. 

 To these may be added Fieldfares in considerably less quantity ; 

 and, lastly, Blackbirds in still smaller numbers. 



Such migrations are followed, almost invariably, by an excep- 

 tionally heavy snowfall and very severe cold. In fact, when an 

 abnormal night-migration like this is followed, about twenty-four 

 hours after, by dense snowstorms and sharp frost, our fowlers may 

 generally be heard expressing themselves to this effect : ' Ah, those 

 birds ! what cunning fellows they are, to be sure. They knew very 

 well what was coming all along.' It is, however, also possible that 

 the feeding-places of the birds in the regions where they had hoped 

 to spend the winter may have been suddenly covered with snow, 

 and the birds thus driven directly, by want of food, to seek safety 

 in flight along the regular east-to-west route of their autumn 

 migration, the winter slowly following in their rear. This, however, 

 by no means excludes the assumption, which is indeed probably 

 much nearer to the truth, that such flocks have been roused to 

 a timely departure by a presentiment of the approaching weather 

 changes. In any case, these late arrivals have not as yet experi- 

 enced want; they are invariably in far too plump condition to 

 countenance such a supposition. 



Cases of this kind occur more especially at the end of December 

 and beginning of January. Thus, on the night of the 23rd of Decem- 

 ber, a sudden mass-migration of Larks, Golden Plovers, Curlews, and 

 Dunlins was observed, the wind at the time blowing lightly from 

 the west, with a rnild temperature. On the 25th a change of the 

 wind to the north-west took place, hail and snow being at the same 

 time experienced. These conditions were followed in the succeed- 

 ing days by a violent south-east wind, accompanied by snow- 

 storms. The north-west wind would not have induced the birds 

 to abandon their temporary place of residence ; this could only 

 have happened in consequence of a presentiment of the approach- 

 ing wintry south-east wind and snowstorm. The migration pro- 

 ceeded manifestly from the east, a direction from which wintry 

 weather invariably reaches this island, for it was accompanied by 

 the Northern Bullfinch (Pyrrhula major), a bird which is seen 

 here on very rare occasions, and then, as a rule, only when there 

 occurs a strong migration from eastern regions. Late migrations 



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