night. The birds apparently beat themselves to death against the 

 wire or fell exhausted to the concrete pavement below, frequently 

 to be destroyed there by cats or skunks. Two other lighthouses at 

 the southern end of Florida, Sombrero Key and Fowey Rocks, have 

 been the cause of a great number of bird tragedies, while heavy mor- 

 tality has been noted also at some of the lights on the Great Lakes and 

 on the coast of Quebec. It is the fixed white lights that cause such 

 disasters to birds, as the stations equipped with flashing or red lights do 

 not present such strong attractions. That it is not a mere case of geo- 

 graphical location has been demonstrated, for it is observed that when 

 fixed white lights have been changed to red or flashing lights, the 

 migrating birds are no longer endangered. At some of the light sta- 

 tions in England and elsewhere, shelves and perches have been placed 

 below the lanterns to afford places where birds can rest until they have 

 overcome their bewilderment. 



For many years at the National Capital, the Washington Monument, 

 although unilluminated, caused the destruction of large numbers of 

 small birds, due apparently to their inability to see this obstacle in their 

 path, towering more than 555 feet into the air. One morning in the 

 spring of 1902 the bodies of nearly 150 warblers, sparrows, and other 

 birds were found about its base. Then, as the illumination of the city 

 was improved and the Monument became more visible at night, the 

 loss became steadily less, until by 1920 only a few birds would be killed 

 during an entire migration. On November 11, 1931, however, as part 

 of the Armistice Day celebration, batteries of brilliant floodlights 

 grouped on all four sides about the base of the Monument were added 

 to the two searchlights already trained on the apex, so that the lighted 

 shaft probably corresponds in brilliancy to a very low magnitude 

 lighthouse lantern. Airplane pilots have ventured opinions that on 

 a clear night it could be seen for 40 miles. It is certain that there is 

 an extensive area of illumination, and on dark nights, when there are 

 gusty, northerly winds and the nocturnal travelers seem to fly at lower 

 altitudes, many of them are attracted to the Monument as to a light- 

 house beacon. As they approach from the north a last-minute attempt 

 to avoid it causes them to veer off to the east or the west where they are 

 literally sucked in and dashed against the southern face of the shaft. 

 During the fall migration of 1932 more than 500 warblers, vireos, 

 thrushes, kinglets, sparrows, and others were killed. Since that year 

 the mortality has been less, but the Monument at times remains a 



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