230 The Scottish Naturalist. 



to unfavourable weather, or the length of sea to be traversed, 

 birds are of necessity drowned. Thousands upon thousands 

 pass over in safety. Migratory birds in their long journeys en- 

 counter many dangers, and are liable to many casualties : num- 

 bers are often killed by dashing themselves against the light- 

 houses on our coasts ; and it is not only in the storm, but even 

 in the calmest of weather, that accidents may, and do frequently, 

 occur. It may be from some constitutional weakness, that, un- 

 able to fly at the proper height, or incapacitated from going fur- 

 ther, the water is touched, the feathers are wetted, and the bird 

 is lost. But with all this, we may be assured that He who hath 

 said not a sparrow shall fall without His knowledge, has equally 

 ordained that, in nature's proper course, there shall be no undue 

 loss of life, and that everything should fulfil its own special pur- 

 pose and maintain its own proper balance ; and though man 

 may disturb it by the ruthless destruction of many creatures, 

 that in no way sets aside the design of a beneficent Creator. 



A somewhat affecting incident was witnessed by me when 

 near the mouth of the St Lawrence : one fine afternoon, towards 

 the end of August, the sea being quite calm, and the schooner in 

 which I was about eight or ten miles off the northern shore, a 

 party of six or seven small birds were seen flying towards the 

 vessel, which they passed about fifty yards astern, without any 

 seeming intention of alighting. Suddenly one of their number 

 faltered, and dropped ; the remainder, wheeling round, came to 

 the rescue, evidently in great distress, making every effort to save 

 him by trying to lift him up ; but at last, finding it hopeless, they 

 left their companion to his fate, and sped on their way, some 

 eighty or a hundred miles further on, to the Gaspe shore. A 

 boat was immediately lowered, and as the bird was still fluttering 

 in the water, we were in great hopes of saving it, but when reached 

 life was extinct. On examination, it proved to be an American 

 Redstart [Setophaga ruticil/a), a young bird of the year. 



Were the width of the sea increased, I will not say a little, but 

 very considerably, the probability is that migration would cease ; 

 but who shall say what the distance should be to effect this ? 

 Much, I surmise, would depend on the prevailing winds on the 

 line of passage during the migratory periods. As to birds tra- 

 versing large extents of ocean, it is well known that they do so. 

 Many of the American birds even find their way to this country, 

 a distance of 2000 miles (a subject on which I shall have occa- 

 sion again to refer); and many instances occur in which they 



