102 Wade : Migratory Movements of Birds near Hull. 



ornithologists. The question as to what faculty enables them 

 to find their way on migration is still a disputed point. Do 

 they rely upon their marvellous powers of sight, or is the sense 

 of direction the guiding motive ? 



Col. R. Meinertzhagen's researches into the question of the 

 altitude at which birds fly on migration, assisted by all 

 available observations made from aeroplanes, lead him to 

 the conclusion that they do not often exceed 3000 feet above 

 the earth's surface in clear weather, i.e., at a height where 

 landmarks would be visible; but, on the other hand, in thick 

 weather they descend to much lower altitudes, which points 

 to the necessity of their keeping the earth in view in order 

 to maintain direction. On the other hand, reports from 

 lighthouses and vessels at sea show that there is much migra- 

 tion, especially among smaller birds, at a very low altitude, 

 or just above sea level, when, as they could have no chance of 

 seeing their objective, the only guide would be a sense of 

 direction. So far as the evidence available in this district 

 goes, it would seem that sight is the faculty upon which 

 birds rely. In clear weather we distinguish migrant birds 

 by their cries as they pass overhead, but in foggy weather 

 they seem altogether to lose their way. 



I was kept awake one foggy November night in 1901 or 

 1902 by the incessant cries of waders flying about over the 

 City of Hull. Lying awake with my window open, they seemed 

 to be on a level with the housetops, and in such numbers that 

 their cries entirely precluded the possibility of sleep until 

 the early hours of morning. Apparently no sense of direction 

 prevented these birds from being drawn to the City lights, 

 which, on a clear night, they would have left far below. If 

 such a sense guides the birds, why should the blanket of fog, 

 which shut off the earth from view, entirely destroy its 

 operation. 



For the last eleven years I have lived near the Humber, and 

 watched the Pink-footed Geese, which arrive about 22nd 

 September and leave us about mid January, in their daily 

 flight from the high wolds, where they feed during the day, 

 spending the night on the Humber. At or near daybreak the 

 flight to the feeding-ground commences, the districts most 

 favoured being the neighbourhood of Newbald and Arras, 

 about 8 or 10 miles away in a direct line, these flights being 

 proclaimed by loud and incessant cries. The routine con- 

 tinues daily throughout the four months or so which they 

 spend with us, the resting-ground for the night being the 

 Humber, roughly, from Trent Ness to Hcsslc, so far as my 

 district is concerned. One would suppose that the birds would 

 become fairly familiar with the direction and route. In 

 clear weather they make a W-v line for the feeding ground, 



NaturaUst 



