14/4 A7A7>.V 



i.l lllcv.tll.il \\ash.s, blotches, lilies, ..! innlr ol Irs.S lleailv CMVCUhll Spots, II poll 

 rillirr ;i \\lnte ol iiniloimh eoloicd -loiind. Yetv litlli- r, houevcr, :it pi< ,eiil 



understood \\iih n : .;.iid to iii< signification oi ,; coloration. l'ie<|iicutl\ tii-- 

 different species of a group lay vet \ sinnl.nl \-colored eggs, as is exemplified by the 



\\.nl.liis 'mil bnntini'.s; luit this is by no nu-;nis invanabh lli<- case, :is is well 

 slloun bv the dill el i ill i lieu I IK -|s ol tile Tlllllsll family. Ill 111:111 v CUSes I 1 1- i 'oloi :i I ioi I 

 ol li : , e\ l.l. Illh .hi. i]. led to the lllle of theil li;itlli:il sll 1 I on Ildi ni;s, as is well 



<'.. lii|.||||ed l.\ s.mdplpels, d 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.',, ployels, Mild lllell :illies, Mild likewise bv pll' 



Mills Mild part 1 idv;es. 



Since no bird hibernates, while a large number breed in regions 

 where they could not possibly exist during the cold winter months, it is 



essential licit they should mil', I ate to waimei i< r.ioiis in \\hieli to p :l ss Hint season o| 



the year. Such migrations may be very partial, as is the case with many r.ritish 



sp. , les, \\li< n the individuals passim; the Sllllllllel 111 the Illole northern purls of the 



country come further south during the winter; while those from the area into 



whnh the iiiir.iMiits Miiivi- likewise inovr sotitliwanl. l-'ioin sneh |..nli.d mii;i.it ions 

 then- is M i-i.idiiMl tiMiisilion to complete niij'iMtioiis, when the birds of our country 

 ti.i\ ( l to .1 I'M i dislMiit kind Ioi the wiutei. As the j-reMl niMsses of kind i-njoviiiK a 

 cold cliniMtr MIC niMinly conliiH-d to the Northern I Icinisphcrc, it is obvious th;it 

 l.nd miiMMlions must t.ike pkiee from south to noith, ;ind the following i' 1 '" 1 ''"^' l-'^vs 

 of iniiM-Mtion MIC now Mci-epted. \\'ith the excej.tion of purely tropic:il s]Krics, 



every bird breeds in the coldest or most northern part of its range; such nesting 



iMonnds l.eiur i-.ciiei.dlv ic:iclied lv M hoii/oiitMl miiM at ion, although in a few 

 instances l.iids m:i\ aseeiid mount. HIP- until thev meet with the iei|tiiicd decree of 

 tempeiMluie. This iioitheilv miiMatioii is alwavs for the purpose of breeding, 



while the southward return is for food and warmth. Those species which go 



furthest north often also lauv.e I m I hest to Hie sotiih; while i-vc-ry speeies has its 



particular period of migration. Finally, no species ever breeds during its sojourn in 

 the southern portion of its migratory area. 



It would be quite out of place to enter into any discussion as to the orii-.m of 



this mis-.iatoiy instinct: luit it may l.e mentioned that as the yoimi-, frequently 



make the autumn migration unattended by the old, it is quite evident that the 

 journey is made independently of any knowledge of the route. Moreover, as most 



initiations take place in the iiii-ht. it is clear that this alone- will preclude any 



guidance of the host by landmarks. Then, again, from the circumstance that 



dm in;- .'.slionomic.il ohsei yations Ilii-hts of Li ids have been seen crossini-, the moon's 

 disc .it .in immense elevation al.ove the earth, theie is i-ood reason to l.elii've that at 

 least main mi;- 1 at ions take place at heii-Jits whence the configuration of the conti- 

 nents and oceans \\oiild lie iii\-jsilile e\-en dlililii', the day. Ne\ el t lieK-ss, it appears 

 that thcic are cei tain definite lines alonv; which vast nnnilu-is of l.irds, suhject to 



conditions of weather, habitually migrate; one of these tmuk routts |.i m/, 



thiour.h the island of 1 Iclii'.okmd and alonjv the wi-stcrn coast of Knropc 



Altlioni-h, fiom their power of Ilii-ht and migratory habits, it 



mil-lit seem that Hiidswonld have no definite distrihutional areas, \et 



this is by no means the case; and the different zoological regions into \\hich the 



