172 Twelve Months With 



Birds like the cardinal, robin or meadowlark, 

 migrate short distances, but oftimes the movement 

 is scarcely noticeable. Meadowlarks are fre- 

 quently found throughout the year in about this 

 latitude, notably on the Atlantic Coast, but doubt- 

 less the individuals of the species nesting in this 

 region move a few hundred miles south for the 

 winter, and their places are taken by other 

 migrants that have nested farther north. The geo- 

 graphical range of this bird covers the whole of the 

 United States from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, 

 and while those that nest in this latitude may pass 

 on to the southern states, many of the birds breed- 

 ing near the Canadian border, winter as far north 

 as Illinois and Massachusetts. 



The robin offers a similar illustration of migrat- 

 ing within the geographical range. Its breeding 

 range is from the Arctic regions to near the south- 

 ern boundary of the United States, but it occurs 

 irregularly in winter from the Canadian border 

 south. Those that breed in Canada may often be 

 found in winter in southern Illinois and Indiana, 

 while none will be found along the Gulf coast until 

 winter when those nesting in the middle or southern 

 portions of the range have moved southward. 



In other words, the migration of birds like the 

 meadowlark, robin and cardinal is almost if not 

 entirely within the area which is occupied by some 

 individual representatives of the species the year 

 round, the migration simply being a shifting of the 

 population within such area. 



