292 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



feathered hosts pour in ; the bulk of the migrants 

 being composed of such birds as Starlings, Larks, 

 Goldcrests, Thrushes, Finches, Rooks, and Crows. 

 Some idea of their numbers may be gained from 

 the fact that these waves of birds often strike 

 our coast-line simultaneously, north to south, for 

 hundreds of miles. Waves of Goldcrests have 

 extended from the Faroes to the English Channel ; 

 Larks for weeks have poured in, in successive 

 waves, by day and night. The Hooded Crow is 

 another species that crosses the North Sea in 

 myriads every autumn. This bird prefers to 

 migrate by day, and appears to do the journey 

 across in an astonishing short time. Starlings, 

 again, often migrate across in a succession of 

 clouds, which defy all attempts to estimate their 

 numbers. This migration of birds, say, on the 

 coasts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, is one of 

 the most fascinating sights the shore can yield. 

 To be out by dawn on the crisp October mornings, 

 and to watch the vast inrush of birds to the 

 English coast for hour after hour, is a treat no 

 lover of birds can fail to appreciate. Here and 

 there the sea-banks and the rough saltings are 

 strewn with birds skulking and resting amongst 

 the grass, or in the hedges, that have made the 

 passage of the North Sea during the previous 

 night, and are soon about to pass inland. Tired 

 Woodcocks rise reluctantly from the dry grass 

 in the hedge bottoms ; Hooded Crows, in com- 



