Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1907-10-24
WAYS OF BIRDS
At MIGRATION
JOURNEYS IN SPRING AND FALL
DO NOT SEEM TO BE TiRlNe.
WATCHED BY THE EXPERTS
Relative Positions Maintained in Each
Group-PuzzIes Regarding Habits
Latter Part of Migration Faster
Than the Rest-The "Line Of
Spring."

Than the Rest-The "Line Of
Spring."
Are birds exhausted by their long
flights during migration?" is a Ques
ton to which various answers have
been given, says Ernest Harold
Baynes in the New York Post. Any
one who is in the habit of watching
the migrants which return to US In
the spring might be inclined to say
YES" for often enough the birds ap
pear listless, as If they had not re-
covered Immediately from the effects
of their long voyage. On the other
hand, birds often fly farther than ap.
pears necessary in order to accom-
plish given journey, and. even after
a long fight across large body OF
water, continue flying, instead OF
stopping to rest as soon as they
reach the land, which they almost
certainly would do If they were real
ly exhausted. A few years ago. two
trained ornithologists carefully OBJ.
served the spring migration near the
coast Of northwestern Florida, visiting
bird haunts Of every description, and
seeking lists of the species identified.
These lists were long ones, but, to
the surprise of the men who made
them, there were lacking twenty-five
species which wintered to the south
of them, and which were recorded by
other observers to the northward
Some of these were very common
birds, such as the yellow-breasted
chat, redstart and indigo bunting, and
the only satisfactory explanation OF
their absence seemed to be that, aft.
er crossing the Gulf of Mexico, they
flew right on northward, to be OBJ
served by other men when they did
alight. If this explanation is cor
rect, it appears to indicate that what
we have been taught about the ex.
hausted condition in which birds com.
plete their fight across wide stretches
of water is not altogether true.
Referring to this subject, w. W.
Cooke remarks: Under favorable
conditions birds can fly practically
where, when and how they please:
consequently their choice of route ana
the distance covered in a single flight
are principally governed by the food
supply"
Order in the Migration.
Another interesting point on which
recent investigations are beginning to
throw some light is that concerning
the relative position of birds of the
same species during migration. II a
great cloth were stretched over the
entire breeding range of some mi
grant, and then, when the birds them
selves had alighted on it near their
respective nesting localities, 1t was
drawn southwark until the southern
border Of 1t touched the southern ex-
tremity Of the birds winter range, the
migrants upon it would have held the
same relative positions, generally
speaking, as are held by the individ-
uals of certain species during the fall
migration. That is to say. those
which had nested farthest north
would still be the farthest north
the end of the migration; those which
had nested farthest south would be
at the southern end of the winter
range. while those which had nesten
near the middle of the summer range
would hold q middle position for the
winter.
Mr. Cooke refers to such move
ment as a normal migration and
gives as an example of a species per-
forming 1t the black-and-white creep
err. which breeds from South Caro-
lima to New Brunswick, nesting in
the southern part of its range in
April and in the northern part after
the middle of May, about fifty days
being taken TO cross the breeding
range. To quote Mr. Cooke: 1T
sixty days are considered the short
est possible time in which such a
bird can build a nest, rear the young,
moult and be ready for the return
journey, then no New Brunswick
black-and-white creeper is ready to
start south before the middle Of July;
the fifty days for the trip will bring
the earliest migrants to the gulf
states in September Yet both old
birds and young of the year have
been seen by the middle of July at
Key West, Fla, 500 miles south of
the breeding range on August 10 in
Costa Rica and on August q on the
northern coast of South America.
These dates prove conclusively that
these early migrants south Of the
United States could not have been
birds from the northern part of the
range. but must have been those from
the southern part"
&C to the West Indies.
But many birds do not follow this
normal order of migration and 9TH
ers there are which follow Il only in