104 STUDIES IN BIRD-MIGRATION 



own, for they are performed under different influences 

 and for different purposes. 



Spring. 



At no other season do migratory birds attract so 

 much attention, or arouse the same widespread degree 

 of interest as in the spring. This is not surprising, for 

 time out of mind their appearance among us has been 

 regarded as the harbinger of a glad season, and an 

 omen of the passing of one which has become drear. 

 They are most welcome visitors, too, for in their ranks 

 are to be found some of the most famous songsters, 

 such as the Nightingale, Blackcap, and a host of others, 

 which contribute with much acceptance to the joyousness 

 of the season, and without which the pageant of spring 

 would indeed be a spiritless show, for it has been well 

 said by Cowper^ — 



Nor country sights alone, but country sounds, 

 Exhilarate the spirit. 



All the spring movements in the British Isles and 

 elsewhere north of the equator, varied though they may 

 seem to be, are undertaken for the same object, namely, 

 to return to summer haunts, whether those haunts be 

 close at hand or in lands far removed from where the 

 winter was spent. 



At no other period are the migrations performed 

 under such all-engrossing conditions. It is the season 

 which brings in its train the revival of the sexual 

 activities, with their irresistible incentives to repair to 

 the nesting retreats : it is the season of love-making, 

 nest-building, and the rearing of families. Need one be 

 surprised that the migrants proceed on hurried wing to 

 reach these hallowed scenes ? This race for breeding 



