MIGRATION IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 279 



as the Redwing and Fieldfare, the Black Redstart, 

 the Brambling, and the Short-eared Owl, which 

 are on the move from February to April. In 

 March a perceptible decrease of many shore birds 

 is apparent ; and during this and the following 

 month these winter migrants take their departure 

 north. The White-fronted Goose leaves us in 

 March, but the Brent Goose, probably because it 

 breeds so far north, delays its migration until 

 April or even early May ; the Teal, the Wigeon, 

 and the Shoveler we lose in April; the three 

 species of " Black Duck " pass north during March 

 and April ; at which date also the Red-breasted 

 Merganser seeks its northern nesting places. Our 

 two commonest winter Gulls, the Black-headed Gull 

 and the Common Gull, depart in March and April, 

 but the former is sometimes seen as late as May. 

 The two Divers (Great Northern Diver and Red- 

 throated Diver) take their departure in March; as 

 also do the Sclavonian and Great Crested Grebes, 

 the latter, however, not unfrequently lingering till 

 April. The wading birds move much about the 

 same time ; the Jack Snipe, the Dunlin, and the 

 Sanderling leaving in March, but the Golden 

 Plover and the Purple Sandpiper often linger into 



