BIRDS AS TRAVELLERS 



IN the whole realm of Nature there is no 

 exact analogy to the migration of birds 

 " birds, joyous birds of the wandering wing." 

 They are the great travellers, the winged 

 vagabonds of life ; but their vagrancy is 

 conducted on well-considered lines. Their 

 pilgrimages are seldom uncertain ; there 

 are regular principles to guide their nomad 

 careers, their courses being carefully chosen 

 and lying within fairly definite areas. 



The essential facts of migration are 

 generally familiar. We know that every 

 spring we look for the return of the swallows, 

 the herald birds of summer, and we are sure 

 that as autumn comes round they leave 

 our shores again until the following spring ; 

 whilst in the autumn the fieldfares and 

 redwings visit us, remaining throughout 

 the winter and taking their departure 

 as spring returns. All this we realize, 

 and yet there remain many unsolved 



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