1 84 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



Rough- the Rough-legged Buzzard. This species also 

 B as z se a s rd th has * ts re g u ^ ar lines of flight, and travels along 

 October, them, scarcely swerving half a mile from its course 

 year after year. It follows the mountains, pass- 

 ing right down the backbone of Great Britain to 

 the sea, whence it crosses to its winter haunts in 

 the south of Europe. Many of the smaller birds 

 follow an inland course until they reach the coast. 

 Birds in autumn may suddenly become numerous 

 in certain woods and fields, remain a few days, 

 then as quickly disappear. This is especially 

 noticeable with the Song Thrush, the Goldcrest, 

 the Chaffinch, and the Wheatear. Some of these 

 cSnchL fl oc ks of Chaffinches are very large, and what is 

 o"iober 2 . 5th rather curious is that the earliest companies are 

 almost invariably males, the females arriving a 

 week or so later. The other kind of migration is 

 the usual departure of those birds which visit us 

 in spring, and live with us throughout the summer. 

 The earliest birds to come, such as the Willow 

 Wren, the Blackcap, the Wheatear, and the Sand 

 Martin, are the latest to depart ; whilst those that 

 arrive on our shores when spring is well advanced 

 such as the Cuckoo, the Swift, the Gray Fly- 

 catcher, and the Reed Warbler, are the first to 

 hurry away at the close of summer. 



The migration of birds is beset with many 

 perils and many difficulties. Birds often lose 

 their way ; a contrary wind or a spell of dark, 

 cloudy weather appears to disorganise their 

 movements, and, like mariners without a com- 



