THE TRAVELS OF BIRDS 



plowman and alight in furrows to pick up grubs 

 exposed in the black earth. In this way they 

 destroy many harmful insects. 



The return to the lake begins late in the after- 

 noon. At times they fly in even rows, perhaps 

 half a mile in length but not more than three or 

 four gulls deep. Or they may come home in V- 

 shaped flocks with as many as seventy-five or 

 one hundred Gulls in each arm of the V. But 

 whether in long, billowy lines or* even, flying 

 wedges, the flights of the Gulls teach us in what 

 an orderly manner birds perform these little 

 journeys. 



With the Robins, Crackles, Swallows, Swifts 

 and Gulls, these daily trips to and from their 

 sleeping quarters precede the real migration to 

 their winter homes, where, in some cases, new 

 roosts may be found and new flocks formed. 



There are other birds which gather nightly in 

 certain roosting places but which migrate little, 

 if at all. Among these are Herons, which every 

 evening gather in some marshy woods or thicket 

 which perhaps has been used many years. 

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