The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-01-20
SEEKING A VAIN BOOST.
Manner Of flight aud the speed Made b
Migratory Birds.

Manner Of flight aud the speed Made by
Migratory Birds.
Nearly all the native American summer
birds make migratory journeys southwark
nt the approach Of winter. A few Of the
varieties, such as the swallow family, leave
a. early as the latter part OF August. As
soon a. the young birds are able 70 leave
the nest, much time Is spent ON the wing
by those birds that have the fall journey 70
make, and when the breeding time Is we'll
over they bunch into troops, having holi-
day time feasting on the new crop OF seeds
and enjoying the fine weather. Children
all grown up, no household cares, the young
rejoicing Ia the use OF their developing pin
ions, they frisk and futter. scour the sur
rounding country, but no one sees them
leave.
Singularly enough, the warblers make
these journeys In the night. That noisy
aud now unwelcomc and voracious pet, the
English sparrow, Is not migratory, 40 far
as autumn journeys pertain toimmigration.
They were imported 10 this, "A strange eli
mate to them, and have not learned to leave
with the approach Of winter. Whether or
not they are an insectivorous bird in their
native isle they certainly could not be 9TH
erwiso than granivorous here in the winter
~
well typifying the peculiar character Of
the Briton.
A puzzle TO the scientist Is 60 solve the
problem Of where the energy can come from
To sustain the expenditure OF force involved
In many occasions Of bird flight. That n
diminutive bit of stomach, charged with a
few seeds as fuel, should Rens.ate force TO
cleave the air. continuousW bearing the
body forward at "A rapid rate for hours and
sometimes days. seems incredible. No land
or water locomotion can compete with It,
A goose, swan or duck may start from Lab
rador, and sooner than an express train
could do the distance many reach the ever
glades Of Florida. And this is probably
done on less than the equivalent Of half a
peck OF corn. We understand the physics
OF their motion, we can grasp both the
mathematics and the mechanics involved
In the wing movement, but how this neces-
sary energy is conserved is a matter that
simply confronts our researches with def
ance.
One versed in ornithology should know
the kind of bird in it flight and walk, as
well as II in hand. Each family of birds
has wing stroke peculiar to its class.
Buzzards and the familiar chicken hawks
fly in circles with the wings outstretched
ana still much OF the time. The crow af-
fects a peculiar swagger in its walk. A
quail and pheasant cannot sustain long
flight. Owls have a light bounding move
ment, as IL much lighter than the air.
Nearly all small birds fiy by jerks, and Of
course rise and fall, and these also hop
when on the ground. Woodpeckers open
and close their wings when they fly, the
line being series Of rising and falling
curves. Larks walk. The killdeer is a
runner, and when not ON the nest is never
at rest. The humming bird has a wing
stroke almost as rapid as that Of some In
sects, but this cannot be much prolonged.
The grain and grass eaters are the speediest
and sustain the Longest flights. Birds Of
prey all have a wide base OF brain, large
oombatveness and destructiveness, and
very few are the kinds that deserve de-
MISUNDERSTANDING Dispatch.