The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-05-03
OUR MIGRATORY BIRDS.
Interesting Facts About the Amin ais
Now Flying Northward.
Especial Correspondence1

Especial Correspondence
| BIRDS POINT LIGHTHOUSE, Mo-, April u
Since time immemorial the habits OF
birds have greatly attracted the curiosity OF
mankind, and for the past few weeks ]
have devoted much attention to them.
| My position here affords great advantages
| for such studies. just at present is the
| great marching season of migratory birds
northward, and the first warm rays of sun
! in the north have set millions of the feath-
| cred population on the wing The investi-
cations made by ornithologists and
naturalists show that there exists several
highways leading from the south to the
north which have apparently always been
regulP~'y travelled by the various bird
generations One of these routes stretches
along the Pacific coast, another passes the
fringe of the Rocky mountains, a third
covers the valley of the Mississippi, while
fourth is on the shore of the Atlantic.
All these routes are travelled by vast con-
gregations of birds. It is known that as a
rule birds take the direction of flight by
the stars, hut in dark night they become
easily confused and consequently fly closer
to the earth. A brilliant light naturally
attracts their attention, and it is a com
mon occurrence to see clouds of birds pass
ing in sepesate flocks near lighthouses.
The results Of the investigations on the
four above named highways show a good
deal OF uniformity. In every instance the
birds passed the different observation sta
lions in separate focks. Some consisted of
robins, others of thrushes and there were
warblers of every variety, but these were
all mixed up. Dark clouds of crow black
birds swept along, followed by woodpeck-
ers, which were led either by goldenwings
or high-holes. Then came mocking birds,
humming birds and screeching kingfishers,
nuthatches, meadow larks, all the differ
ent varieties of sandpipers, plovers, snipe,
including the Wilson snipe, the sea snipe
and other varieties. Large congregations
of brants and wild geese passed "honking"
by, as did also all the tribes of mergansers,
among which the redbreasted was the
most conspicuous. Thousands of ducks
teal and black duck followed, with crows
forming in the procession. The most
noted Of all in these various gatherings of
the different clans was the bobolink, which
certainly is the most musical of all our
wild birds
1t goes without saying that thousands of
these birds sweep by without coming near
the lights, but others will futter around
and around, finally striking against the bars
of the lantern or the walls of the building
itself. All the birds which are caught.
either by means of nets or otherwise, are
only examined and let free after their spe-
cies has been determined. Interesting is
the fact that whenever new lighthouses,
either on the Atlantic, the Pacific coast or
along the Mississippi, are erected, large
numbers of birds are found dead every
morning during the migration period OF
the first year, while the number of the
killed gradually diminished each year. thus
showing that the birds became acquainted
with the danger that threatened them at a
certain spot. Close observation has also
shown that all these wandering birds have
a perfect system of signaling among them.
In passing strange sights, such as power
ful light must be 10 them, they do not sing
as they do in their nesting places, bat as a
rule the heads of each company give one
loud, shrill call, as if TO keep the army to-
gether. 1t is now an absolutely established
fact that there are two classes OF migratory
birds. namely, day flyers and night flyers.
Birds which generally fly at night are
those which live in the covert, and they
never set out on a journey except after sun |
set On the other hand. birds that live in |
the open start on their journey about sun /
rise and fly till sunset. Some species are /
able to cover from 500 TO coo miles day OF /
night ARTHUR PARKER