WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



the added distance each time exceed a certain Hm- 

 it, for then, after trying this way and that, and 

 faihng to recognize any landmark, the bird will sim- 

 ply come back to where it was thrown up. More- 

 over, it must always be clear weather. Homing- 

 pigeons will make no attempt to start in a fog, or 

 if they do get away, a hundred chances to one they 

 will be lost. Nor do they travel at night, but set- 

 tle down at dusk and renew their journey in the 

 morning. When snow disguises the landscape, 

 also, many pigeons go astray. None of these 

 circumstances seriously hampers the semiannual 

 migrations of swallows or geese. They journey 

 at night, as well as by day, straight over vast bod- 

 ies of water and flat deserts, true to the north or 

 south. Homing - pigeons fly northward or south- 

 ward, east or west, equally well, and it is evident 

 that their course is guided only by observation. 

 Watch one tossed. On strong pinions it mounts 

 straight up into the air a hundred feet. Then it 

 begins to sweep around in great circles, rising 

 higher and higher, until — if the locality is seventy- 

 five or one hundred miles beyond where it has ever 

 been before — it will go almost out of sight. Then 

 suddenly you will see it strike off upon a straight 

 course, and that course is homeward. But take 



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