334 
POPULAE SCIENCE EEVIEW. 
Many wood and stock pigeons migrate to Africa in winter ; 
their head-quarters^ however^ would seem to be located in the 
south of Europe ; not so with the turtle dove, of which flocks 
of thousands may be seen steering their course southwards in 
autumn and vice versa in spring; very few^ if any^ remaining in 
Europe or in Africa at the termination of their migrations. 
At these seasons they are caught in great numbers^ by means 
of clapnets and decoy birds. The quail invariably flies within 
a few feet of the sea when crossing. 
As soon as the cold weather has fairly set in along the 
shores of the Mediterranean, a partial migration of the fol- 
lowing plovers takes place. The Norfolk plover disperses in 
winter over the islands, and penetrates far south to central 
Africa. During November flights of golden plovers arrive 
on the northern exposures of the Maltese islands ; also a few 
of the grey and a good many of the* lapwing plovers, all of 
which go to Africa. The dotterel, with its two-ringed allies, 
and the Kentish plover, pursue much the same course, perhaps 
if anything more of all these pass in autumn than recross in 
spring, for the reason that several of the species are resident 
in Africa, and extensively distributed over the entire Con- 
tinent. The common heron and crane repair southwards to 
the African lakes and rivers, and may be seen during the 
winter months flying at great heights ; neither is attracted 
by the mere appearance of land, whilst the purple heron Egret 
squacco, night heron, little bittern, glossy ibis, whimbrel, 
common and slender-billed curlews fly at lower levels, and 
tarry on the islands on their way. 
The frosts of October and the following months drive across 
the inland sea myriads of greenshanks, wood, the common 
and little sandpipers, stilts, water-rails, the common, spotted 
Baillons, and little crakes, and the coot. In smaller numbers 
come black-tailed godwits, common and jack-snipes, common 
and spotted redshanks, marsh and green sandpipers, with 
rufis, the great snipe, knot, curlew sandpiper, dunlin turn- 
stone. Now and then the woodcock wanders across, but as a 
rule its migration is mostly confined to the south of Europe. 
The Adriatic gull extends its range over the western Mediter- 
ranean in winter. Many northern gulls and terns, to wit, 
the herring, lesser, and black-backed gulls. Sandwich, common, 
tha little, the black, the white winged, and the whiskered 
terns spread themselves over the sea, and wander up the Nile 
and to the lakes of North Africa. Of the duck tribe nearly 
all go north in spring. Among others, we have noticed the 
bean goose, shoveller shelldrake, mallard, pintail, gadwall, 
widgeon, teal, gargany, and castaneous ducks ; the red-breasted 
merganser, and the cormorant ; the crested, horned, eared, 
and little e^rebes. 
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