Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-27
FAST FLYING. FOWL.
Habits of American Wild Geese in
Their Strange Migrations.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE Y LINE.
Yigilsnt Sentinels, Like Soldiers, Stand
Guard Every Night.
ENERGY REQUIRED FOR THE FLIGHT
WRITTEN FOR THE D1sPATcH.l

II What boy, especially II country preu,
has not stood and gazed at the flight OF
wild geese, as in the early spring they jour
ney northward, o. go southwark across the
cold autumnal sky? Of all the birds that
make these periodical journeyings, none
are more interesting, as they are, the
swan alone excepted, the largest OF them
all
They are generally so high as to be be-
yond the range of firearms, and If their line
of flight takes them over towns and cities
they do not deviate, but pursue their course
in straight line They pass the summer
season over wide range of Northern coun-
| try. They breed in considerable numbers
in Northern Michigan and the wilder por-
tions of Canada, but they are also scattered
throughout the wide areas of the British
possessions, legions occupying Hudson's
and Bafin's bays.
Many of them in their summer excursions
penetrate still farther north. They have
been observed as far as the eightieth paral-
| lei, which is far inside the Arctic Circle,
| and there is reason to believe that their mi
grations, or at all events, the migrations Of
certain species, extend to the regions
around the Pole
They Prefer to Have q Home.
Wild geese, as a general rule, return to
where they had passed the previous season,
but if such places are found short of sub
sistence, or if mans Entertainments on their
habitats become too frequent, they seek
other quarters. Their food consists mostly
of grasses and plants, roots and seeds and
some species of berries. On their breeding
ranges they make rude nests on the ground,
of dry grass, rushes and flags, using as a
lining some of their heavy coat of feathers
which have become superfuous for summer
uss. Here they lay their eggs literally ..by
the thousands. During the incubating sea-
son the gandess maintain a constant vigil
ance and ferceiy attack with wing and bill
any enemy that may approach
A man with pistols and gun is no match
for these impetuous assailants, who come in
clouds and make q general all around as
sault, needing not that some of their num-
Der may be killed or wounded, but keep up
the onset until the invader is driven from
the field.
Still more iercely do they wage hattie
when the young have coma forth, the male
parents assuming their full share OF respon-
sibility. OF course, many of both old and
the cunning fox or the predatory lynx and
the water contributes its full quoto of enc
mics to the goslings Many of these are
seized and dragged under the water in a
winkling as they indulge in their innocent
acquatic pastimes, by the otter, the larger
turtles and other creatures.
But, while nearly all birds refuse to
adopt other young than their own. this is
not the case with geese. They make no
hesitation whatever in acting as foster
parents for the young that have been de-
not seem to make much distinction at any
time.
Faithful sentinels at Every Camp.
At night nothing can surprise a flock of
gees unawares, as there are always sentinels
awake and on duty. While the birds are
squatted to the ground SO as to cover their
feet with their breasts and have their heads
under their wings some remain standing and
are wide awake, and, with the least sign of
danger, communicate an alarm in we'll
known notes. The camp is at once in an
uproar, and this is an occasion when a wolf
or other night-prowling animal gets in its
work. Neither their defense nor their sight
is as good in the night as in the daytime.
Even in the domestic goose this inbred
habit of watchfulness does not entirely dis
appear, as one can seldom find o flock of
them at night even in the secrecy of
barnyard, without seeing vigilant sentinel
on guard.
So soon as the young of wild geese have
so matured as to have some use of their
wings, which will be in from six weeks to
two months, the geese take in a wider
range, encouraging the use of their flying
capacity, in which the goslings soon dis
play considerable skill New waters and
wider pastures are now visited, and barring
the incursions made on them by their en-
emies their life for the rest of the season is
pretty much of holiday.
AS the summer commences to wane, and
the young have become full-fedged, small
bodies combine into larger groups; they
scent wider range of territory; their chat
ter becomes more vociferous, and as soon
as there are well-defned signs of cold
weather in their locality, migrating groups
are formed. These first groups are made up
mostly of the young, but are oficered in
variably by sturdy gander that has had
previous experience in those flights across
the continent. While the younger fry is
being mustered of, the older ones remain,
as, after the first squalls, fine weather will
still come and they seem 10th to leave the
associations of the pleasant summer
Why They Fly in v Shape
In their migratory flights one sees them
generally from SOC to 1000 feet high, and
sometimes even higher, in V-shaped line,
with the apex forward, and at this extreme
point is, in all cases, gander. There is
aomething entirely philosophical in this
form of flight, although the fowl are proba-
bly, unaware of it. In this form two col
umns can just as readily follow the leader
as could one column; each bird has an un-
obstructed view forward; the entire BODY is
also more compact, and there is a sort of in
spiration in flying in pairs. The displace-
mept of the atmosphere is more easily eff
fected in this form than in any other, as the
column of birds is as a wedge cleaving
through it.
Their length of wing from tip to tip is
such as to cause the flaps to seem some
what slow, but the radial distance trayersed
is nevertheless something tremendous,
While to an observer a flock of wild geese
seems to be moving slowly the motion is
seldom under 20 miles per hour, and in
favoring conditions of air may reach as
high as 120 miles. Considering this rate of
speed it becomes apparent that economy in
the expenditure of energy means something
where constant resistance has to be en-
one of all others to be adopted to meet all |
the requirements.
As they pursue their course, the leader |
addresses his company with his oft repeated |
honk, honk as if asking "How are YOU |
doing" and the responses come in a sort |
of gurgling, trumpet-like note, much as
one might suppose trumpet tones to be, |
whens partly smothered in water. One
sometimes sees the line break up in con-
fusion, as if from inatention or consterna-
ton they broke ranks and then the sounds