Page:The Migration of Birds - Thomas A Coward - 1912.pdf/105



previous chapters it has been necessary to refer repeatedly to the connection between migration and meteorology; either the relation of periodic movements to the rotation of seasons, or the influence directly or indirectly of weather conditions upon normal and abnormal migration. That there is an overruling relation between the advance of spring and the passage to northern brooding quarters, and the gradual cooling in autumn and the retreat to winter quarters is, of course, evident, but it must not be held, as contended by the early students of migration, that this is the sole factor which regulates migration. The actual relationship between the weather and the movement of birds is far more complicated than one would imagine, and the stimuli of continental or overland travelling differ from those of a cross-sea flight.

In the British Islands most of our larger movements are at their start or their finish, or both (so far as our area is concerned), oversea passages, and unless the weather be absolutely favourable, birds do not undertake these voyages. No one has