History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

InBIRDS. 145the preceding observations on the characters and habits of our nativebirds, I have frequentlyreferred to summer and winter visitants, to polarand equatorial migrations,and to stragglers.The reader who wishes to investigatethe laws regulatingthe distribution and migration of birds, withwhich the above mentioned terms are connected, may consult my " Philosophvof Zoology," vol. ii. chap. 2. It may be proper, however, to bear inmind that birds, in reference to these islands, maybe contemplated under thefollowing divisions.1. Birds, which are permanently resident, and able to remain in their ordinarystations, independent of the changes of the seasons,— such as the CommonPartridge, Blackbird, and Sparrow.2. Summer Visitants.— Birds of this class arrive in spring, and depart inautumn. During their residence amongst us, they pair, build their nests,and bring forth their young. They retire to spend the winter in regionsnearer the Equator,—such as the Swallow, Turtle Dove, Nightingale, andCorncrake.3. Winter Visitants.—These come to us in autumn, and depart in spring.Their breeding-places are in regions nearer the pole,— such as the Snow-Bunting, Wood-Cock, and Wild-Goose.4. Stragglers Under this division species are included, individuals of whichhave occurred in this country at distant and uncertain intervals. Theyusually appear after boisterous weather, and seem, in such circumstances, tohave been driven from their ordinary haunts, or course of migration, by thefury of the wind. Many birds belonging to the Continent of Europe, have,in this manner, made their appearance amongst us, and have been inconsideratelyranked as native birds by systematical writers, — such as the Beeeater,the Great Black Woodpecker, and Nutcracker, and