The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-06-23
RUNNING BIRDS.
A Naturalist on Their Flight, and on
Salamanders.

Salamanders
Our pretty little humming bird, the
ruby throat. said to be the sole New
England species, comes and goes with
the seasons, migrating 10 and fro for
the most part across the Gulf Of Mexico
to Yucatan, a water space 500 miles
in width. Wonderful observers, includ.
I ing some professed naturalists, have
quered whether such little fellow with
supposedly weak powers Of fight in pro.
portion could travel such long distances
unaided This doubt has given rise to
the superstition that the woodeock car
ries II on its back making half the
distance from Canada 70 the gulf dur
ing the hours Of q single night, tarrying
then for some weeks il the latitude Of
the cotton states, and proceeding in the
late fall on its final flight TO the tropics.
In Europe the stork is credited with rem
dering this essential service, giving the
humming birds round trip transit across
country free Of charge. These impress
sions, however, are altogether errone-
Gus.
As matter Of fact, despite their dim
inutiye size, hummers are strong iliers,
and Professor H. W. Heushaw a noted
observer Of the United States biological
survey, affirms that the smallest Of the
species, the calliope, has no difficulty
IN flying from Mexico 10 Alaska and
back again. Some humming birds are
known to make excursions to islands
fifty or sixty miles away and invisible
from the mainland, which shows that
they have plenty Of confidence in their
own wing power and no occasion to call
for assistance from bigger avifama.
While there are known to be some
thirty species 81 humming birds in Next
60 and South America and several spe-
cies on the Pacific coast, IL Is now gem
orally admitted by naturalists that we
have but one species in New England,
the contention that two had been posi-
lively identified being abandoned when it
was discovered that the brilliant green
variety claimed was but the female Of
the ruby throat,
Right here may be a good place to cor
rect another prevalent error regarding
the ireproof quality Of the salamander,
which both ancient and modern litera-
tire have represented as being able to
Withstand degree OF heat which would
quickly prove fatal to any other form
Of life. Yet there is something in the
notion | have had myself the most
positive ocular evidence that this inter-
esting species Of lizard could walk right
into fire and not be burned But my
eyes deceived me. This tiny creature, we
know. like all Of its kind, is able to
adapt its color TO its environment; and
when in the precincts OF a charcoal burn
er in the Tennessee mountains, / saw
one Of them assume Il scarlet hue and
walk right into the eineture Of white
ashes which bordered the redhot Goals
Of the wood kiln. | felt convinced that
truth had come to the support of the
allegory and tradition tMind. I have
not said that ] saw him walk into the
flame) However, to be positive. where
such montentous issues were at stake,
poAed the place where the lizard went
III, and almost instantly ousted him out,
alive and active. Like the three Israel
ties in Nebuehadnezzar's fiery furnace
Their was no smell of fire on its euticle
II then occurred to me to test the tenn
perature Of it's ash bed with my bare
hand and found it quite toerable, and
not at all disagreeable on a frosty morn
ing up in the mountains. 1t was GER
tainly secure hiding place from almost
any other creature than an inqnisitive
naturalist 1t was the last place where
one would think Of looking for anything
bit roast. -Springield Republican.