138 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXV 



periods twice a year early spring and 

 late fall. In the spring, before the sap 

 had stirred on the sunniest slopes, and 

 whilst snow seemed the eternal order of 

 things, and the season's advance was only 

 to be noted by the calendar, she became 

 restless and discontented. It was the 

 "Sea.son of New Song"; more, it was also, 

 it seemed, the season of migration, and 

 whether she knew the meaning of it or 

 not something stirred within her in con- 

 sequence and she was deeply moved. Nor- 

 mally serene and contented in her window, 

 watcliing with bright, interested eyes all 

 that passed within her ken, then she wa? 

 restless and excited, pattering back and 

 forth along the narrow runway of her 

 window meeting-rail, pausing at interval? 

 to half-raise her wings and chatter loudly 

 the M'ell-known Sparrow Hawk cry of 

 agitation. Once at such a time I saw a 

 Avild Sparrow Hawk pass over without 

 She saw it too, for little escaped her pier- 

 cing eyes. She followed it with her gaze 

 from the time it first hove in sight, lean 

 ing against the glass to see around the 

 window jamb until it passed from sighl 

 behind some trees. This condition lasted 

 but a little while each season, a couple of 

 weeks perhaps, but while it lasted it waf 

 nearly as hard on us, her friends, as upon 

 herself. Shortly she was her old self 

 again, content to watch the world go by 

 from her observatory window, her only 

 agitation the butcher's or grocer's 'boy 

 that brought her food and sent her seek 

 ing safety to the high top of her empty 

 cage. Similar disturbances to the even 

 tenor of her wa.y occurred m the fall. As; 

 the first frosts loosed the leaves and the 

 grasshoppers were dropping numbed from 

 the yellowing grass whence wild Sparrow 

 Hawks had but lately gleaned them, 

 nature stirred again within her. Its mean 

 ing I do not think she ever definitely re 

 cognized, but she became again uneasy, 

 restless and difficult to please. 



Now, neither before nor during these 

 periods were there any perceptible change? 

 in the conditions under which she lived, 

 She was not reactive to differences or 

 shortage of food, temperature or an.y other 

 factor that could be humanly recognized, 

 The change came from within, rather than 

 from wii/iout. I think that as fruit and 

 foliage grow through the season, in cer- 



tain times ripen to maturity and then 

 decline in metabolic activity, so the mi- 

 grating and sexual instincts develop, cul- 

 minate and decline in measured growth 

 but slightly accelerated or retarded by 

 variations in seasonal condition. And 

 thus birds feel the urge to migrate, and 

 depart in the fall before the lack of food, 

 the ultimate necessity for such a move- 

 ment, has sapped their energies and vigor. 

 In the spring it works the other way ; 

 the onward urge tofvard a harder rather 

 than a softer climate comes early, and 

 they tread upon the very footsteps of 

 winter, ariving north at the earliest mo- 

 ment that existence for their kind is 

 measureably secure, to the end that they 

 have the greatest length of season in 

 which to raise their families to migrational 

 maturity before the return of winter. 



One of Falco's interesting physical 

 characteristics w^as her comparative in- 

 dependence of water. She was fed prin- 

 cipally on butcher's meat. When liver, 

 English Sparrows or other moist meat 

 formed a fair proportion of her food, 

 water was only desired for bathing, and 

 sometimes weeks went by without her. 

 drinking. After a spell of rather dry 

 meat she desired Avater and asked for it 

 in a way that Ave who knew her little 

 idiosyncracies recognized perfectly. She 

 enjoyed bathing, and splashed the water 

 from her liowl far and wide, retiring after- 

 wards to her sunny windoM'^ to dry and 

 fluff. As said before, her food was lar- 

 gely, and of necessity, from the butcher's 

 shop, and when English Sparrows grew 

 too wary to be readilv obtained, it was 

 found necessary occasionally to mix a 

 little chopped toAV or shredded rope end 

 Avith it to supply the roughage for na- 

 tural digestion and tlie pellet for regur- 

 gitation. She invariably avoided fat, 

 tearing it from the lean in little shreds 

 and impatiently discarding it. She also 

 appreciated a variety in diet, and changes 

 from l)eef to pork or mutton or back again 

 alAA^ays met Avith her approval. At times 

 she even tired of English SparroAvs and 

 became satiated Avith her favorite tit-bits, 

 June-bugs or Grasshoppers. It is evident 

 then that birds enjoy a variety of foods, 

 and no matter hoAv plentiful some one 

 supply may become, at times they Avill 

 turn their attention elseAvhere to balance 



