AMONG THE BIRDS IN AUTUMN. 185 



pass, they are at a loss which direction to take. 

 Many wonderful scenes are witnessed at the 

 lighthouses on some parts of the British coasts 

 during the season of migration in autumn. 

 Sometimes when the moon is suddenly hidden by 

 a bank of clouds, the lanterns of the lighthouses 

 are the points to which the stream of migrants 

 hasten, and where, in a confused fluttering throng, 

 they beat against the glass like moths round a 

 street lamp, and fly to and fro, utterly bewildered 

 and completely lost. They seem to have no idea 

 of their true course, and fly aimlessly about, 

 many killing themselves against the glass, others 

 falling into the water below. The light-men are 

 alert on these occasions, and capture numbers of 

 the poor, lost travellers. Many of the birds are 

 too tired or too dazed to move, and allow them- 

 selves to be taken by the hand as they sit on the 

 balcony. If the scene is such a vivid, interesting 

 one, in the small space round the lantern, how 

 much more so would it be could we only see the 

 vast feathered army in full progress across the 

 night sky, when the tide of migration is at its 

 height ! Here, where the lanterns are the 

 central point of attraction for the countless hosts 

 when the sky becomes overcast, the sight is 

 wonderful in the extreme. Birds of many 

 different species are flying together, or are at- 

 tracted from all points of the compass by the 

 brilliant light. Ducks and Geese are travelling 

 with Goldcrests and Swallows. Starlings and 



