178 



THE OOLOGISl 



not only aside from the severity of the 

 ■weather, but also aside from the gener- 

 ally accepted one of the scarcity of food. 

 And this leads us to ask if there may 

 not be other existing causes for these 

 irregular migratory movements, wheth- 

 er in birds, mammals or insects? It 

 seems to me that there are probable 

 reasons for these irregularities in mi- 

 gration and we are incapable of under- 

 standing them as we are unable to com- 

 prehend the thousand and one features 

 of the great economy; and yet weal- 

 ways speculate upon these problems in 

 «, manner to correspond to our ideas of 

 the requirements of the birds and other 

 creatures of the neiechborhood ; forget- 

 ting that there are life secrets among 

 our feathered friends which we are as 

 yet not able to penetrate. 



If unmolested birds will return to a 

 locality and if they do not it is from 

 the direct influence of civilization, a 

 subject intimately connected with mi- 

 gration as to its extension and limita- 

 tion. Tne appearance of new species 

 of birds in almost any quarters at the 

 present time may be considered as a re- 

 sult of the effjcts of civilization, at 

 least I have found that this is generally 

 so in my neighborhood. A great many 

 species have extended their range, or 

 as we know many have been curtailed 

 in their selective haunts while some 

 have been nearly or quite extermiaated; 

 birds and mammals too, which were 

 once abundant. The subject of the 

 effects of civilization upon our b rds 

 will be considered in another chapter. 

 It is only in localities where we find 

 the so-called advanced improvements 

 of the day where we have it proven to 

 us that the birds are markedly less ia 

 numbers. In cities and highly devel- 

 oped agricultural sections the birds are 

 sadly lessened, while in settlements and 

 new lands it is found that for a certain 

 time the number of birds increases, 

 and species previously unknown to 

 those quarters are found to become 

 abundant. 



In migratory movements nearly all 

 species of birds are very deliberate, and 

 there is not any evidence of rush in 

 either vernal or autumnal journeys. 

 Thouarh the ducks and many species of 

 shore birds fly so rapidly, still they do 

 not perform any long continued trips, 

 and they loiter on the way, spending 

 much time upon selected feeding 

 grounds, This same deliberation is 

 observable in all families of birds that 

 pass through sections that I have visit- 

 ed. There is more haste displayed in 

 the latter spring migrants which we 

 might say were late in getting to their 

 nesting grounds, but I have seen no 

 evidence that any of the species are in 

 a hurry in making their southern trip. 



Neither are birds, as a rule, in a hurry 

 to make the vernal trip. I have seen 

 thousands of ducks, more particularly 

 the Lesser Bluebil', in Southern Florida, 

 in early April, and as all observers know 

 these birds are usually abundant in 

 Michigan by March twentieth. This 

 accounts for the continued presence of 

 some species during migration, many 

 passing through while many others 

 have not even left their winter quarters. 

 This slow method of migrating makes 

 it agreeable for the hunters among 

 ducks, for if the birds came with a rush 

 then the shooting would be over in a 

 short season. Of all the birds to appear 

 in a grand rush In migration, the Wild 

 or Passenger Pigeons were the most 

 pronounced. A pair or two would at 

 first be seen coming from the south, 

 and then within a day or two at farther- 

 est a small flock, quickly followed by 

 larger fi :>cks and then the mighty hoard- 

 es poured in for two or three days. The 

 w( od j were full of them and for a limit- 

 ed time it fairly rained pigeons as the 

 hunters fired right and left. Then the 

 flocks disappeared and soon there were 

 no more pigeons, excepting a few 

 scattered nesters until the return of the 

 autumnal flocks which remained longer 

 than in the spring and were replaced 



