WHERE THE MIGRANTS GO. 245 



sucker. I have seen the Spotted Flycatcher 

 literally in swarms in the more northern oases 

 during May. It seemed as though all the Spotted 

 Flycatchers of Europe were congregated here, 

 loitering away the last few days of their stay in 

 Africa previous to migrating north. The birds, 

 however, that make the southern half of Africa 

 their home in winter are comparatively few. 

 These are the Swallow, the Red-backed Shrike, 

 and the Cuckoo. A few Swallows are said to 

 winter in some of the oases in the Sahara, but 

 such instances are exceptions to the rule. The 

 migrations of the Red-backed Shrike are very 

 interesting, inasmuch that this bird sets off from 

 England in a south-easterly direction, instead of 

 due south, crossing Europe and Asia Minor, and 

 passing down the valley of the Nile, across the 

 Lake Region and the Zambesi to South Africa. 

 Few, if any, individuals of this species travel by 

 the much shorter western route, as the Red- 

 backed Shrike is rarely, if ever, seen in the 

 Spanish peninsula, or along the West African 

 coast. A few Cuckoos remain behind to breed 

 in the rich and fertile districts of Algeria, but it 

 is not known that any of these individuals remain 

 north of the equator during the winter. It re- 

 mains now but to notice the Terns. All the 

 British species are migratory, and have their 

 winter home in the warm seas round the African 

 coast, and the Lesser Tern spends that season in 

 some numbers on the Nile. Doubtless these 



