Why Birds Migrate. 121 



zero. It is to be remarked, that the previous au- 

 tumn had produced an abundance of beech-nuts 

 and buck- wheat their favorite food ; and that the 

 ground was not yet covered with snow. It is only 

 when the forests of the West have failed in their 

 usual supply of mast and berries, that the wild 

 pigeons come among us, to claim a share of the 

 acorns and berries of our woods, and the refuse grains 

 scattered over our rice fields. 



When the period of migration arrives, birds 

 evince an uncontrollable restlessnesss of disposition, 

 as if conscious that an important undertaking was 

 at hand. I have kept in my aviary, robins, finches 

 and orioles, that had been procured when young at 

 the North, and no sooner did the Spring, (the time 

 of migration) arrive, than they exhibited, by their 

 constant fluttering, a disposition to escape, and the 

 moment this was affected, they flew off, not to the 

 South or West, but as directly in the line of migra- 

 tion, as if guided by a compass. These are facts of 

 which the humblest person may inform himself, 

 but which neither our wisdom, nor our philosophy, 

 an explain. 



The lover of nature who, in the seasons of the 

 migrations of birds, sees flock after flock passing 

 over his head, all day long, or witnesses the wrens, 

 bluebirds and creepers, stopping just for a few min- 

 utes to seize a worm or an insect ; if he listens at 

 night will hear unusual sounds. The single sharp 

 note of the rice-bird repeated all around him, is suc- 

 ceeded by the crake of the snipe, resembling the 

 grating of a wheel, repeated at long intervals ; and 

 the Woodcock (Scolopax minor), wheels around him 

 uttering notes like the loud ticking of a watch, so 

 rapidly repeated, that they cannot be counted. 

 The bird ascends higher and still higher in the air, 

 like the lark of Europe, till he seems to have risen 



