HOW AND WHY DO BIRDS TRAVEL? 183 
that the bird is guided by the topography of the land, 
the stars, the waves, etc., attributing the direction 
taken solely to the reasoning powers of the bird, just 
as it knows how to flee when you approach it. But 
there are some statements concerning certain practices 
in migration that are much in the way of this view. 
It has been maintained that the old birds guide the 
young, but observers upon this island of Heligoland 
and other places often find the young birds preceding 
the old ones. Again the old ones in other instances 
precede the young so far as to be in no sense a 
guide. Thus the European cuckoo is said to be out 
of England and into Africa, while its fledgeling is 
yet being fed by some duped finch or warbler at the 
north. 
There can be no doubt, however, that birds reason 
about their course, as we have seen, turning aside to 
feeding grounds and laying their courses by or along- 
side of great landmarks. It is claimed also that hom- 
ing pigeons are guided wholly by the “lay of the 
land,” etc., in taking up their direction, since they 
often circle for a while. 
But with all this the knack of returning quickly, 
often in a direct line, to the old home so frequently 
displayed by lower animals when carried away in 
sacks by circuitous paths is in all probability instine- 
tive or intuitive. 
So the capacity of the young bird for starting in 
the proper direction is no more remarkable than the 
fact that without instruction it should desire to go. 
Both may be an inherited habit, or, if you choose, an 
