The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-10-29
BIRDS RAPID FLIGHT
THE SPEED AND HABITS OF BIRDS ON
SEA AND LAND.

Some Of Their Struggles Against the Wind
and Aurrioane-Their Intelligent Evoiu-
tions In tho Air--Birds That Migrate In
Head Wind.
The speed Of birds was never accu-
rately measured until carrier-pigeons
had their flight tested over well-known
courses, and, with many Of the feath-
cred creatures of the woods their
swiftness is only relatively understood
to-day. Several years ago the De-
partment of Agriculture attempted TO
ascertain the speed of the migrating
birds by studying t., focks at sue
cessive stages Of their travels, but the
results of this work merely gave the
ornithologist a general idea how fast
the different species Of birds journeyed
southwark In the fall No light was
thrown upon the more important sub
ject of the high speed attained by ccr-
tain birds in their flight with or
against the wind.
The velocity of sea birds Is often
so great that they are unable to checA
their own speed In time to avoid col
lision with objects Unexpectedly placed
in their way. Thus seagulls have been
known to dash out their lives y
plunging headforemost upon sandbars,
which, in their eagerness to secure a
fish, they failed to SEQ in time. The
plunge Of kingflsher or large winter
gull from height Of several hun
bred feet straight down to the
waters surface has been timed by ex-
perts, and the speed estimated to Re
at the rate Of sixty to seventy miles an
hour. The same birds have been
known to stun themselves by striking
the water with terrific force, but this
may have been caused as much by
their failure to take the water at the
proper angle as by any velocity Of
their plunge.
Birds In high gales or storms are
always interesting objects. It is very
rarely that the powerful pstrels Of
the coast succumb to the force of the
wind, but sometimes their flight is not
strong enough to resist the hurricanes,
and taking the wind on the side they
fly along with 1t at rate that is fairy
dazzling to the eyes. The termination
of such trips is not always pleasing to
the birds. The are often hurried along
with such velocity that they cannot
recover their equilibrium, and they
are dashed upon some land and killed.
When caught in 4 high gale the birds
always make for the lee side Of some
point Of land or stationary object. The
difficult part Of their evolution is to
bring themselves UP on the lee side
without being killed. Some birds rise
high In the air, and make sort Of
double under curve. and generally fall
with considerable force. The more
powerf1lswinged species curve around
to breast the gale, and then allow
themselves to drop gradually while
facing the wind.
The struggles Of powerful-winged
bird in a gale are fascinating to one
interested in aerial navigation. II
caught in the rushing wind, the birds
will do their best 10 save themselves
from getting lost" Birds do get lort
in the windstorms as we'll as in the
rain and snowstorr1s Of dark nights.
That is, the wind blows them far out
Of their accustomed haunts. Most Of
our birds are local in their habitations.
They fly about within comparatively
narrow range Of territory, and If they
get far beyond this they are to all in
tents and purposes lost. Thus sea-
birds are sometime blown for many
mile inland, where they feel as lonely
and uncomfortable as the land birds
which have been blown far out to sea.
Il. GNala