lyo THE MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS 



few ornithologists in the United States, the most 

 abundant of the wintering shore-birds on the 

 pampas. 



On the eastern coast of the province of Buenos 

 Aires, while living in a lonely herdsman's hut among 

 sand dunes, far from other habitation, I witnessed 

 an interesting example of crossing lines of migration 

 in these birds. Apparently many shore-birds drive 

 down the broad interior basin of the Rio Paraguay 

 and continue straight south in their rapid flight, 

 until they reach the coast in the vicinity of Bahia 

 Blanca. Here some remain, some pass on south, 

 and a certain number swing around to follow east 

 and then north along the coast to wintering grounds 

 near the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. At the camp 

 mentioned I noted these birds driving by toward 

 the north, while at the same time little bands of 

 sanderlings, occasional knots, and a steady stream 

 of jaegers came directly south by the coastal route. 

 Thus I had spread before me the spectacle of two 

 lines of migration flight, both emanating originally 

 from the same northern sources, but here, near the 

 end of their long journeys, meeting and passing in 

 directions diametrically opposite — one of the most 

 interesting sights that has come to my attention 

 during long years spent in field observation. 



Once established on their wintering grounds, 

 these birds become quiet and more or less sedentary. 



