TRAVELS OF WATERFOWL 



is taken at the same time each morning and the post-feeding period daily 

 spent in the regular manner, the duck must receive stimuli from the diges- 

 tive tract directing it to its second meal at about the same hour each after- 

 noon. The metabolic cue is modified by the solar cue. In the timing of the 

 dawn flight, hunger is secondary to light. Crop and gizzard may be empty 

 some time before dawn, but the hungry bird awaits the light of day before 

 going to breakfast. 



Among our captives there is a sharp awareness of time that seems to 

 obey the metabolic cue. They are fed at a given hour each day, but if for 

 some reason the feeding is delayed, they gather around the edge of the 

 pond awaiting their handout. Some of the geese walk to the granary at the 

 appointed hour. 



Unlike the Mallards, Canada Geese often start out for the fields after sunup. 



