122 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



S.W. wind going to Denmark or Norway, and those which meet 

 with a S. or E. wind working up England. 



What is really extraordinary about the emigration which 

 takes place every spring from the east coast of England is its 

 smallness, and the little notice it attracts, compared to the vast 

 immigration in autumn. The departure of some of the Corvidce 

 is always seen in Norfolk, it is true, in spring, but very little 

 besides. Where, it may be asked, are all those hosts of Sky- 

 Larks which came last autumn from the north-east? Where 

 are the thousands of Thrushes and Finches ? Surely they ought 

 to be returning in March and April, in diminished numbers, no 

 doubt, but still in considerable bulk. This is one of the unsolved 

 puzzles in ornithology, and only to be in part explained by a 

 presumably large mortality among the birds during the winter. 



Autumnal Migration. — Besides the annual migrations over the 

 sea, there are certain coast movements in Norfolk, chiefly due 

 to wind and weather, which must not be lost sight of by anyone 

 who studies migration. These consist of passing bands of small 

 birds, such as Swallows, Martins, Swifts, Wheatears, Sky-Larks, 

 Finches, Eedstarts, &c. ; rarely more than five hundred yards 

 from the sea, and often much nearer. It may be observed that 

 they are nearly always going against the wind, the prevailing 

 direction of which in September and October is west. They are 

 not migrants in the restricted sense of the word, because they are 

 often going the wrong way. This, I imagine, is because where 

 the coast is bleak, as between Cromer and Mundesley, it is easier 

 to move on against the wind than to remain stationary. 



During October without doubt our ordinary visitants came 

 over the sea, and the usual flights of large Gulls, following the 

 shore-line in a north-westerly direction, took place at Cromer. 

 This is a phenomenon of annual occurrence, but it is invariably 

 to be noticed that they fly against the wind, and that as soon 

 as it changes to E. or N.E. or S.E. the flocks of Gulls cease to 

 pass (cf. ' The Ornithologist,' April, 1896, and ' Naturalist,' 1892, 

 p. 360). That about one hundred thousand Gulls, chiefly Herring 

 and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, pass Cromer nearly every autumn, 

 going N.W., I verily believe, but very likely the same individuals 

 pass more than once, in which case the actual number would be 

 less. Ten thousand have been seen to pass in a day, after a gale 



