ii8 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



tering in Currituck and Pamlico settling down for 

 their nesting time in the cradle made for a few 

 weeks each year in the lap of the eternal snows." 



"What takes 'em so far north?" the pot-hunter 

 asked. 



"Many birds nest at the coldest point of their 

 range," the expert answered, "provided that there 

 f re suitable sites and food at that point. United 

 States birds go to the northern parts of Canada ; 

 European, North Africa and Asiatic birds go to 

 Siberia. On the southern side of the equator the 

 movement is much less marked. This is due to 

 the fact that in the northern hemisphere the land 

 area widens out, leaving a large shore around the 

 North Polar Sea ; in the southern hemisphere, the 

 land area narrows down to a few points, leaving 

 an immense circumpolar sea, surrounding an 

 Antarctic continent not suitable for bird life, for, 

 by reason of the elevation of the land, even the 

 long Antarctic summer is insufficient to clear the 

 land of ice. ' ' 



"Do you suppose," asked the boy, "that there's 

 any special reason for the birds going north?" 



"As I told you yesterday," the official answered, 

 "there's always a reason. Just what that reason 

 may be we're not able to say positively. During 



