THE DAY FLYERS 



the sky. Certainly there was nothing on the 

 earth to attract him. But putting my fingers 

 to my lips I whistled a loud imitation of his 

 notes. Quickly he answered. I whistled again, 

 and soon could see a black dot circling high 

 above me. Larger and larger it grew, louder 

 and more frequent became his cry, and within 

 a minute, much to the surprise of the passers-by, 

 the bird was flying anxiously back and forth just 

 over my head. But unable to find the "bird" 

 which had called to him, he soon mounted high 

 in the air and continued his journey. 



THE PASSENGER PIGEON 



One of the most remarkable of day flyers was 

 the Passenger Pigeon. At times several days 

 were required for the migrating hosts to pass 

 a given point. The procession stretched from 

 horizon to horizon and was a mile or more in 

 width. Often the sun would be obscured by the 

 clouds of flying birds. 



In 1808, Alexander Wilson, America's pioneer 

 ornithologist, estimated that during a great flight 

 73 



