On Moorlands and Roughs* 3 7 



stone grit, the slopes below them studded with 

 boulders of varying size right down to the stream. 

 In some parts the soil is deep and peaty, almost 

 black; in others it is scanty, and the bed-rocks peep 

 through the stone-strewn ground, where the sturdy 

 ling and wire-like bilberry have a hard struggle to 

 maintain themselves. Roughly speaking, each de- 

 scription of moorland ground has its own peculiar 

 birds. Some species there are, it is true, that distri- 

 bute themselves more or less universally throughout 

 the moorlands, but others are confined to well-de- 

 fined limits. Then, again, these moors are inhabited 

 by two very distinct avifaunae a limited one which 

 is practically sedentary, and a more extensive one 

 composed entirely of migratory species. As might 

 naturally be expected, the birds that can exist upon 

 these bleak storm-swept moorlands during winter 

 are extremely few; possibly we might reduce the 

 number to a single species, and even this is occasion- 

 ally partially driven from its heathy haunts by the 

 inclemency of the northern winter. Of the avine 

 visitors that flock to the moors each recurring spring- 

 time, and just as surely depart in autumn, there are 

 close upon thirty species a goodly list, and which 

 is slightly increased by a few passing migrants. 

 From this it will be seen that these uplands, with 

 their universal reputation for barrenness, are by no 

 means devoid of bird-life, and that in summer espe- 



