Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-06-16
TIT GOLDEN PLovER.

fact, it is the summer of the southern
rive there in September, they find the
native birds either nesting or prepar-
ing to nest. But this activity has no
effect upon the migrants from
the north, which have already reared
one family, and after a flight of 5000
miles are inclined to take things easy
for a time. Until March they are
chiefly occupied in providing them.
selves with food, but in the early part
of that month they hear the call
which them once more on Q
long and perilous journey. Giving uI
their life of comparative ease, north.
ward they start, through Bolivia.
western Brazil and Peru. Then
whether they continue on through
Ecuador and cross the Gulf of Pana.
ma, or whether they follow the 18TH
mus, no man is sure; all we know
about it is that later in the month
they appear in Guatemala and Texas.
reaching the latter place by flying
straight across the Gulf of Mexico. In
April they are found crossing the prai.
ries of the Mississippi valley, and be.
fore the LIST of May they are going
over our northern borders into Can
ada. BY the list of June they have
reached their destination, the inhos-
pitable barren grounds above the
arctic circle, or even hundreds OF
miles further north, where they take
up the duties which they came to per.
form. Though the lakes are still ice.
bound, and the ground still frozen
hard, these plucky birds make theii
simple nests in the moss, and lay their
four buffy eggs. In two months after
their arrival, they have reared their
familiN, and the homeward journey
is begun. But they do not go home by
the same route. First they pay a visit
at this season, in company with turn
stones and Eskimo curlews, feasting
on the crowberry, a juicy, black fruit
borne in profusion by a species of
heather, which grows over the rocks
and t~reeless slopes of this bleak coast.
hO Oli0o dlO FCty lOho vi III IiOlJ,
and eat such quantities Of it hat the
flesh of the curlews becomes stained
dark purple with the juice.
The plovers now become very fat
and very strong, and ere ready for
their great journey to tie southwark.
They leave the land of Nova Scotia and
straight out | sea-. They now
have 1900 miles of ocean between them
and the first of the Antilles, and 600
more to their objective point on the
mainland of South America.
Perhaps they stop occasionally on the
way, for these plovers are good swim
mers. and are sometimes seer resting
the surface of the ocean. But prob
ably the voyage does not fatigue them
very much, since when they reach the
first land, and might alight as easily
not, they prefer to continue their
flight. sometimes for hundreds of miles.
Well is it for them that they lay on
so much fat before leaving Labrador,
for the voyage to the Antilles is a try
ing one, and they arrive lean and
hungry. Here, or upon the northeast.
ern coast of South America. they make
a stop OF three or four weeks, per-
haps, to recuperate. Then they sud
denly disappear. whittier, no man
knows exactly, but later they reappear
at the same time in southern Brazil
and in the prairie region of Argentina.
almost to Patagonia, and their long
annual vacation begins once more.
How they find their way no one
knows; no one knows even why this
great journey is taken each year.
What we do know is that the golden
plover is one of che greatest travel
ers In the world.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNEs.