WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



broken flight from the south vside of the Mediterra- 

 nean to the shores of the Baltic. These and many 

 other facts go to show that if a warbler or sand- 

 piper bound for the mouth of the Mackenzie or 

 Boothia found itself late in reaching Manitoba or 

 New Brunswick, it would be able to cover the re- 

 maining distance in a very few days and arrive 

 "on time/' 



But these long - distance, persistent travellers, 

 who are bidden by some strange, irresistible un- 

 rest to go to the very ends of the earth, are com- 

 paratively few, since most birds are able to satisfy 

 themselves with a home well inside the temperate 

 zone, and, fortunately for us, for the most part be- 

 tween the thirtieth and forty-fifth parallels of lati- 

 tude, or, more exactly, within the isotherms which 

 these lines represent in the central United States. 

 They drop out of the march as they arrive, and 

 contentedly set about establishing a home with 

 an air of satisfied ease that we think shows glad- 

 ness of heart. 



Few are mated on their arrival. Family life 

 has not been well preserved during their winter's 

 leisure in the tropics, and it appears likely that the 

 older males lead off when they start northward 

 in the spring. At any rate, in nearly all cases 



103 



