MIGRATORY BIRDS. 



IN the New World the birds of the 

 temperate zone are rather perplex- 

 iiii^ in their migratory habits. Many 

 of those which go north to Canada 

 and Alaska in the summer pass the 

 winter in Mexico, Panama, and even 

 .South Columbia; while others, as well 

 as a number of migrants from the 

 United States, go over to the West 

 Indias. One of the most wonderful in- 

 stances of migration is that of the tiny 

 flame-breasted humming-bird {Sc/as- 

 pJioms rufiis), which breeds on the west 

 coast of America as far north as Alaska 

 and Bering Island, and winters in Lower 

 California and Mexico. Thus, with un- 

 erring instinct, this diminutive bird, 

 scarcely two inches long, flies twice a 

 year the astounding distance of over 

 3,000 miles. The birds which belong 

 to the second class — those which breed 

 in the Arctic regions -comprise the 

 swans, many of the waders, and a con- 

 siderable number of ducks and geese. 

 In Europe these birds spend the win- 

 ter in all the countries from England 

 south to the Mediterranean and Black 

 seas, some even going as far south as 

 the upper reaches of the Nile. In 

 Asia most of the waders, such as snipe, 

 woodcock, sandpipers, and plovers, as 



well as the ducks and the geese, spend 

 the winter in India and .South China. 

 In America the Arctic birds migrate to 

 the Southern United .States and Mex- 

 ico. 



The partial migrants, which form the 

 third class, are rather more puzzling in 

 their movements, for among them we 

 find birds whose motives for wandering 

 are very diverse. Some are unwilling- 

 slaves — i. e., they get mixed up in the 

 big flights of true migratory birds, and 

 are irresistibly hurried along with 

 them; such are the rooks, starlings, 

 robins, etc., which are so frequently 

 seen in Heligoland in the midst of a 

 flock of swallows, warblers, and other 

 genuine migrants, x^nother lot of these 

 partial migrants are those which, per- 

 haps, most justly deserve this name; 

 viz., such birds as larks, pipits, titmice, 

 etc., which, although resident with us 

 all the year round, at times greatly 

 diminish in numbers, owing to more 

 than half the individuals changing their 

 abode. For instance, those which 

 breed in Scotland and England wander 

 in the winter over to France, but, un- 

 like the true migrant, always leave 

 some of their number behind. — Walter 

 Rothscliild, Tlie NitieteentJi Century. 



HOW BIRDS CARRY SEEDS. 



DR. HOWARD, the new secre- 

 tary of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement 

 of Science, writing of the man- 

 ner in which seeds are carried to a 

 great distance by birds, recited an ex- 

 periment of Darwin, which had a curi- 



ous result. Adhering to the leg of a 

 wounded partridge, Darwin found a 

 ball of earth weighing six and a half 

 ounces. From the seeds contained in 

 this ball he raised thirty-two plants be- 

 longing to five distinct species. 



THE SHIP OF THE DESERT. 



TH K pack camel travels very 

 slowly, and until you are suffi- 

 ciently reconciled to the motion 

 to be able to doze on its back, 

 you are constantly tempted to get off 

 and walk. If you want speed, you must 

 buv a racing camel. This seems to be- 



long to a different creation. It is much 

 taller, more alert and more intelligent. 

 It can accomplish 150 miles in sixteen 

 hours without undue effort, and, in the 

 matter of price, compares with the pack 

 camel as the thoroughbred does with 

 the cab horse. 



