INTRODUCTION. 27 



is necessary to approach them by cutting the wind upon them ; conse- 

 quently, by the disposition of their wings, they are obhged to come 

 towards the boat, which is also at the same time pushed towards them. 

 Our common Passenger Pigeons and Wild Geese, decided migra- 

 tors, may be observed, when moving in the largest bodies, flying in 

 a path contrary to the wind. The direction of the winds is then of 

 great importance to the migration of birds, not only as an assistance 

 when favorable, but to be avoided when contrary, as the most dis- 

 astrous of accidents, when they are traversing the ocean. If the 

 breeze suddenly change,, the aerial voyagers tack to meet it, and 

 diverging from their original course, seek the asylum of some land 

 or island, as is the case very frequently with the Quails, who conse- 

 quently, in their passage across the Mediterranean, at variable 

 times, make a descent in immense numbers on the islands of the 

 Archipelago, where they wait, sometimes for weeks, the arrival 

 of a propitious gale to terminate their journey. And hence we 

 perceive the object of migrating birds, when they alight upon a 

 vessel at sea; it has fallen in their course while seeking refuge 

 from a baffling breeze, or overwhelming storm, and after a few 

 hours of rest, they wing their way to their previous destination. 

 That nature has provided ample means to fulfil the wonderful in- 

 stinct of these feeble but cautious wanderers, appears in every part 

 of their economy. As the period approaches for their general depar- 

 ture, and the chills of autumn begin to be felt, their bodies begin 

 to be loaded with cellular matter, and at no season of the year are 

 the true birds of passage so fat as at the approach of their migration. 

 The Gulls, Cranes, and Herons, almost proverbially macilent, are 

 at this season loaded with this reservoir of nutriment, which is in- 

 tended to administer to their support through their arduous and 

 hazardous voyage. With this natural provision, dormant animals 

 also commence their long and dreary sleep through the winter ; a 

 nutritious resource, no less necessary in birds while engaged in ful- 

 filling the powerful and waking reveries of instinct. 



But if the act of migration surprise us when performed by birds 

 of active power of wing, it is still more remarkable when under- 

 taken by those of short and laborious flight, like the Coots and Rails, 

 who, in fact, perform a part of their route on foot. The Great Penguin 

 (Jltca impennis) , the Guillemot, and the Divers, even make their 

 voyage chiefly by dint of swimming. The young Loons (Colymbus 

 glacialis), bred in inland ponds, though proverbially lame (and 

 hence the name of Lom or Loon), Avithout recourse to their wings, 



