SOUTHERN FLIGHT SOUTH OF THE FROST LINE. 107 
ing North” now, instead of “Ducks going South,” a 
common phrase in the South, depending altogether 
upon the severity of the weather at the frost line as well 
as the abundance of food to be found south of the 
line. The latter alone will keep birds longer south- 
ward, but they make up for it by longer flights and 
shorter stops on accustomed grounds when incuba- 
tion warns them to hurry on their way. Many eggs 
are frequently found on the borders of sloughs, lakes 
and ponds, laid before they reach a suitable nesting 
place according to their species. 
The non-divers traverse the waterways of the large 
inland waters, the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, and 
their tributaries. The divers either go coastwise or 
come up the Mississippi and branch off from their 
tributaries, a certain percentage always coming 
through the interior. A drifting always occurs 
through the vast swamps, tame rice fields, lakes and 
bayous, especially over the Great Dismal Swamp in 
Virginia and North Carolina to the east, and up the 
Rio Grande, Texas and the Indian Nation to the west, 
before they reach the line. The same local flights oc- 
cur south as well as north of the frost line, governed 
by cold weather, storms and the local food supply. 
