A BIRDLQVER'S YEAR 



leaving behind them lands of warmth and 

 plenty ? 



Frequently birds are rather premature in 

 their arrival on our shores, for they are met 

 with all the horrors of starvation and cold. 

 The late Mr. Seebohm describes, in his 

 travels in Siberia, the arrival of the summer 

 migrants when that country, in spite of the 

 time of year, was still in the grip of winter, 

 and he tells of the pitiable plight of the 

 travellers. But each brood of birds, in turn, 

 seems to be animated with the desire to 

 bring forth their young in their own birth- 

 place, so year by year " the birds come north 

 again " in order to mate, and reproduce 

 their species. This latter instinct is often 

 accounted for by the theory that the original 

 cooling of the earth took place at the north 

 and south poles ; thus the then existing 

 birds were forced towards the equator during 

 the colder portion of the year : but on 

 this subject there are many and diverse 

 theories. 



The speed of the flight of birds on migra- 

 tion varies greatly, as also does the length 

 of the journey taken at a single stretch. 

 Herr Gatke was of the opinion that the little 

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