The Northward Flight 



a chirping and a cheeping! Such a darting hastily 

 up to the line, and a skimming over the blocks ! Such 

 a chattering and a fussing, till the man in the street stands to 

 gaze in surprise, and even the tired tram traveller looks up 

 from his evening paper, and wonders what it is all about. 



It is the annual meeting of the swallows, preparatory to 

 taking their northern flight. Every autumn for years they 

 have met in hundreds and thousands on the telegraph lines at 

 the Haymarket, and there each year, apparently, they discuss 

 the question as to whether migration is advisable or not. For 

 many of them stay with us all through the winter, though the 

 majority, following the faith of their forefathers, travel to the 

 warmer climes of Northern Australia for the cold season. 



For weeks they blacken the wires every day at sunset, rest- 

 ing there all through the night ; then one evening the wires 

 are bare, and they are seen no more, except in stray instances, 

 till the spring. And though they must depart in flocks, there 

 is no record of anyone having noted their going. 



It is one of the eternal mysteries of bird life, this coming 

 and going, and though of late years ornithologists have given 

 great attention to the subject, there is still much to be learned. 

 So great a part of the travelling is done by night, that there is 

 little chance for observation, and with birds the method of 



