. Birds through the year . with us which are noted in the chapter on the Departure ofBirds. Woodcock are regarded as immigrants in winter,not emigrants, because the majority of the species nest moreto northwards, and move down at this time; but they pro-vide an excellent example of the way in which the same birdsmay have a different classification in different parts of theirrange, and the same species may be represented in any one 284 AUTUMN AND WINTER district from month to month by birds with a very different history. The same is true of snipe ; they nest in many parts of thecountry, but the
. Birds through the year . with us which are noted in the chapter on the Departure ofBirds. Woodcock are regarded as immigrants in winter,not emigrants, because the majority of the species nest moreto northwards, and move down at this time; but they pro-vide an excellent example of the way in which the same birdsmay have a different classification in different parts of theirrange, and the same species may be represented in any one 284 AUTUMN AND WINTER district from month to month by birds with a very different history. The same is true of snipe ; they nest in many parts of thecountry, but the numbers of winter visitors are far greaterthan those of the nesting birds. The jack snipe is a wintervisitor pure and simple ; it breeds in Lapland and the Arctictundras, and departs again in March. Golden plover appear. on heaths and wide ploughed fields in hard weather, flockingdown from the Baltic and Arctic basins where they chieflybreed. Some of them may possibly come from nesting-placeson the mountains and high moors of the northern countiesand Scotland ; but probably most of our own birds go south-ward early, in the vanguard of the movement. On the sea-shore and in oozy estuaries, as early as August, flocks ofdunlin are once more veering over the creeks ami channels,showing their gleaming bellies as they turn. Curlew comedown from their high-lying inland nesting-grounds at the WINTER BIRDS OF PASSAGE 285 same time; and they are joined by wandering whimbrels andredshanks and oyster-catchers. As autumn goes on, agreater variety of waders flocks down from the high of them, like the ruff and the black-tailed godwit, oncenested in the English fens, and still breed not far away inHolland and the Baltic basin. Others, like the grey ploverand sanderling and knot, are migrants from the swamps
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