* * * * PLOVER FLOCKS.
Have other wanderers over tilths and stubbles noticed the huge size of the flocks of green plover in south and central England ? In spite of the summery season they have come earlier and in larger companies than ever I remember. Accounts of altogether exceptional flocks reach me also from the neighbourhood of Ludlow, always a great plover country. Is this the result of protection ? For the plover is now the most whole-heartedly protected of birds. It was a refreshing sight the other day, when a vast flock of green plover rose before the beaters and flew over the line of guns without tempting even the youngest—or oldest—to fire a shot. But I should doubt whether protection is the cause. It is likely that the birds were mostly migrant ; and the lapwings' migration has been very carefully studied of late by Continental observers. It provides one of the- best examples of the preference of autumnal migrants for a south-westerly route. A great number of birds dip south to the eastern shore of the Baltic, fly west along it, and turn south along the coast of France, some parties coming to England, some proceeding south to Spain, which, like England, is one of the bird paradises.
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