MIGRATION IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 287 



approaching birds coming along over the cliffs 

 at Livermead or far out in the bay nearer 

 Torquay. They were all flying steadily and at 

 the same speed, which was moderately fast. 

 Sometimes a scattered flock of from sixty to a 

 hundred birds would pass, followed by straggling 

 parties and twos and threes, and many odd 

 individuals flying alone. In this irregular order 

 they continued to pass hour by hour in one 

 never-ending stream. Many birds flew low above 

 the water or sand, and none were higher than 

 forty or fifty yards in the air. At the end of 

 Paignton sands the land rises into the Round- 

 ham headland, and when approaching this the 

 birds rose in their course and flew steadily south 

 across it. This course may have been followed 

 across the Brixham headland, near Churston, and 

 possibly have been continued with a little westerly 

 deviation down to the Start, then across the 

 Channel, where the French coast would be struck 

 somewhere about Point du Sillon, in the Cotes 

 du Nord. Not the least remarkable part of this 

 grand migration of Swallows and Martins was the 

 fact of their passing and at times literally mixing 

 with other birds of these species that were spending 



