THE NIGHT FLYERS 



in treeless places, and, as we have learned, they 

 travel by day. But that retiring member of this 

 family, the Woodcock, lives in the dark, shady 

 places and waits for the sun to set before he starts 

 on his journey. 



The Snipe and Plover of the open, with their 

 long, pointed wings, need not fear Hawks when 

 they are in the air. But the Woodcock, with his 

 short, rounded wings, would have small chance 

 of escaping if a bird of prey should give chase. 

 For several reasons we know more about the 

 travels of the night flyers than we do about those 

 of the day flyers : first, because many more birds 

 travel by night than by day; second, because 

 practically all birds that fly by night are real mi- 

 grants; third, because the night flyers seem un- 

 able to avoid the lighthouses in their way, and 

 the number killed by striking these beacons 

 erected for man's safety has given us a vast 

 amount of information concerning birds that 

 travel after dark. 



By night as well as day our ears can tell us 

 much about the number of birds that are passing 

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