Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-03-27
The RETURN OF THE BIRDS

How different the world seems after
the return of the first immigrants. The
soft. gurglng notes of the bluebird, waited
to us on the warm south wind, bring us
something more than a mere promise of
spring, and the harsh cry of the grachle
and the first song of the robin, are more
Teassuring than either the dates on the
almanac or the statements of the weather
prophets.
Although the first arrivals have been in
the vicinity but week or two, the migrd-
tion began months ago when an uncontrol-
liable desire to visit their northern homes
came to millions of birds which wera
scattered over South America, Central
America. the West Indian Islands, and the
Southern States. 1t came to some earlier
than to others, but as soon as 1t came, 1t
came with a strength which nothing could
resist. No matter where they were. no
matter what they were doing, every other
occupation was given UP that they might
set their faces northward. Plentiful food
a congenial climate and care-free lfe-ail
these they gave up. and for what? To
face 4 tedious journey of hundreds or of
thousands Of miles, beset with every pc rl
known to them; to combat storms wherein
vast numbers of them must perish ami
to reach country where the snow still
fingers and the air Is raw and cold. and
whore as yet the food Is very scarce And
was this all? Hank to the wild geese as
their sQuadrons pass above you at night.
and they tell YOU that they are going
home home, home" To so home to the
place where 1t was born and reared, ard
where its ancestors were born and reared
before IT, and there in it's turn to build u
nest and rear it's young-that Is, perhaps.
the highest ambition. the strongest In
stinct. If you like. of every migratory bird
There is no comfort he will not give up.
no danger he will not face in orier 10
reach his home. and there he will stay
until he is literally driven out by the win
ter. And no doubt he would brave the
winter too. could he but get sufficient
food; the cold alone would not be enough
to daunt his courageous spirit.
The birds do not complete their long
journeys In one continuous forced MAJ c1
but come along in easy stages. remaining
at each hating place until the country
Immediately to the north is warm enough
to Justify them in proceeding on their
way. We may easily observe this for
ourselves. as the successive bird waves
pour into our part of tho country. IT,
Immediately on their arrival there comes
a cold snap, indicating severe weather
further north. the immigrant may stay
with us for several days, but if the
weather is fine and growing warmer, they
may come and go within twenty-folr
hours
We may notice also that birds which
have made long journeys are frequently
listless and inactive: they are tired and
they show 1t, just as people do under the
same circumstances. After a few days
of rest, the jaded appearance will w ar
of and they will resume their wonted ac-
tivity.
Another thing which is noticeable about
the new arrivals Is that their plumage
IS much brighter than it was when they
went away in the fall. In some few cas- &
this is due to the feet that the birds have
mou!ted during their absence and are re-
turning In new attire. But the majority
are clad in the selfsame costumes they
wore when we saw them last, and strange
as it may SEEM the reason why they are
more brilliant now Is that they have seen
more service. The dull appearance In
the fall was due in some cases 10 the
gray bnrbues of the feathers and in
others t" the gray or grayish tips. Dur
ing the sojourn of tho birds in the south
these barbules and tips have been worn
of. with the result that the plumage look
very much brighter. This accounts for
the fact that the heads of the robins
which had dull grayish cast when they
left ls last year. are now a brilliant back
Still another difference do we notice.
When the sober clans were gathering TO"
their journey to the south, they We're so
quiet that many Of them might have been
mistaken for windblown leaves, but now
every wood and meadow is gay with the
songs of robins, bluebirds. blackbirds and
other feathered MINISTRIES, whose joyous
notes seem to be an expression of light
at finding themselves at home once mere.
In some cases the males arrive first as
much as a month perhaps In advance of
the females. These little bachelors So EN-
to enjoy their freedom. and as far as We
can see. show no impotence for the arri
Ut,
tell; perhaps beneath that apparent in
difference there is the greatest an iety
felt by each male for the safety OF some
particular female; perhaps the very mate
he bad last year. 1t Is not even known
whether birds do choose the same mates
for two seasons in succession or not, but
it seems not improbable that they 90
since II is known beyond Il reasonable
doubt that the same bird often comes b ok
to the same field. and the same tree. ard
even to the same square foot of ground
TO make its nest 1t is also known that
young birds come back, If not always. at
least in some cases, to the very spot
where they were born. Audubon was tn
first to prove this. by fastening wire
bands about the legs of young phoe b. $ .
thus being able to positively identify them
when they came back tho following year
J have often thought that n great 3ea
If knowledge concerning the age of birds
the extent of their migrations and the
extent to which they annually come and
go to the same localities, might be OBJ
tanned by Systematically tagging the fiedg
lings with marked or differently colorc d
aluminium bands. similar to those with
which all registered homng pigeons are
banded. | believe of course that su h
work should be done under the supervision
of competent ornithologists only | am
we'll aware of the objections which can
he advanced on the ground that marked
birds would be shot on sight out Of sheer
curiosity, and had I the time and space
at my disposal | could answer those OBJ
iections. No doubt some individual bird
would suffer by reason of the tagging but
in my opinion they would die in as coed
a cause as did the thousands of specimens
which persisted to make up the collections
OF our leading ornithologsts.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES