The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1874-05-09
Migrating Birds-A Fresh Bit of Nat.
ural History.
From the Hartford Times

low az lneSe ROBINS, ana the swat
lows, and other migrating birds, con-
trlve to make, unobserved, their long
journey north and south? Who sees
them arrive? Who has ever seen them
departP
They have time to come, and time
to depart; and they move altogether.
We find them with us, some bright and
cherry morning in the latter half of
March, or early in April. We may feel
sure they were not here the proceeding
morning. When did they come? Who
saw them arrive?
A friend who has carefully studied
this problem, gives his slow but decid-
ed conclusion. It is this: Our migrat-
ing birds chiefly come and go IN the
night
His observation has led him also to
the belief that this annual migration,
north and south, is due less to in
stlnct than to instruction, and a sort
of tradition, actually impaired to
host Of young birds by the older ones.
He has reached the conclusion that the
young ones, born and brought up here
IN the north, would not know by instinct,
that long and dreadful season of
deadly cold, with drifting SHOWS, and
fearful storms, was coming, from
which all sensible birds must flee, and
seek in more genial ATTITUDES their
winter home. In proof of this he cites
the case of those robiug which remain
with lis over winter These, he says,
are invariably young robins, Matched
the preceding June-never old ones
who had been here before the previous
winter This can be ascertained chiefly
by their size, but partly by other in
dlcatlons and appearances, such as
every vagrant country school-boy
is familiar with. To confirm his view
our friend points to the large gather
ings of young birds in latter September,
or early October, evidently brought
together by the old ones, who fly along
the whole line, eagerly chattering some
thing to which the youngsters evidently
listen, and which this observer believes
to be warning not to widely part
company with the older ones, bnt to be
on hand and keep them company, when,
at time near at hand, they must all
leave for a southern cline Some
young birds, our philosopher says,
either do not heed this wise warming,
or miss the great company when they
start-which is always, he says, in the
night. One finds these unlucky
stragglers, hiding as best they may,
among the sheltering thickets in
JANUARY and February-maintaining a
precarious and doubtless a suffering
existence by eating the ceder-b berries.
These unhappy stragglers, left behind to
endure the rIgors of n northern winter,
did not heed the traditionary warning
which is preserved by the older birds,
and handed down from generation to
generation.
Such is our observers theory; and
we find something that does not look
like support Of it, in the conduct of the
swallows. We have often watched, i'll
the country, these similar and most
graceful birds, when, about the first
week in September, they are gathered
in crowds of hundreds on hundreds,
completely covering the fence tops for
long distances. Huddled close togeth-
er, they present Il curious sight; and
the entire crowd Of sitting and station
airy birds are plainly enough the young
swallows. along the entire line the
older birds are flying eagerly, closely
approaching the younger crowd and
twittering vociferously. This spectacle
is best exhibited at the sea shore.
Along the outermOSt fences of the
farms bordering Long Island Sound
these closely packed congregations of
young swallows are often astonishing In
their numbers. The time is commonly
about the first of September. The
lesson-if it is q lesson-is repeated
day after day, the old birds seeming to
be very earnest and anxious about it.
However this part of our friends
theory may be regarded, proofs of the
fact that migration of birds is perform
ed in the night chiefly, is sufficiently
abundant, we think, to settle that
point.
The wild geese-whose advanced
squadrons are already passing north
ward over COnneticut-ma their
long flight alike i'll the darkness and
the daylight. So, possibly, the
other, smaller birds, and these may
escape observation because of their
smallness. That they do, however, fly
in the night is abundantly proved by
the revelation of the astronomers teles-
copes, as well as the slaughter occasion
ed by the birds dashing heedlessly
against the lanterns of the light houses
on the coast.
Astronomer Mitchell NOW dsceased)
speaks of seeing birds cross the field of
his glass, when this was directed to the
moon. in the dead hour of night We
l,, III niha, 81
who affirm that in September and
October, Judging from the number
which cross the field Of their telescopes,
the whole air seems to be literally fill
ed with birds flying southwark at night;
and again in April the same phenomena
reappears, the only difference being
that the direction of flight is reversed.
The light houses bear the same testi-
mony. Mrs. Thaxter, in her charming
book of life on the Isles of Shoals, says:
Sometimes in autumn, always III
spring, when birds are migrating. they
are destroyed in such quantities 10y this
means that it is painful to reflect upon
The keeper at the island three years
ago told me that he picked up three
hundred and seventy-tive In one morn
ing at the foot OF the light house, all
dead They fly with such force against
the glass that their beaks are oft en-
splintered. The keeper said he found
the destruction greatest i'll hay wealth
er, and he thought they struck ray
at a great distance and followed it up.
Many a May morning | have wandered
about the rock at the foot of the tower,
mourning over a little apron brimfull
of sparrows, swallows, thrushes, robins,