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■appointed times ; and the turtle and the swallow and the crane 

 observe the time of their coming ; but my people know not the 

 ordinance of the Lord." 



The Greek poet, Anacreon, who liyed in the sixth century, 

 3.0. , sings of the swallow returning to nest beneath the roofs, and, 

 bring up its young, in the summer, and then hiding in the winter 

 or seeking Egypt or the Nile ; and the Persians and the Arabs 

 compiled portions of their calendar from the coming and going of 

 migratory birds, and held festivals in honour of the warmer season 

 heralded by their return. In the 18th century of our era, birds 

 were supposed to migrate to the moon. There are still a few 

 naturalists who believe that some birds may hibernate through the 

 winter in the same lands in which they have spent their summer, 

 ■whilst the majority of their species migrate, but I think there is 

 no positive evidence of hibernation published, and the Duke of 

 Argyll, who is rather favourable to hibernation, writes : "I think 

 it clear, however, that migration is the almost universal rule with 

 birds. Hibernation must be a very exceptional circumstance." 

 - There was also a theory that swallows and swifts hibernated 

 "beneath the water. This probably had its origin in the fact that 

 swallows are particularly fond of frequenting sheets of water, 

 especially in autumn, at which season vast numbers often resort 

 to reed and osier beds to roost. In skimming to and fro, they 

 often drink or bathe, and repeatedly strike the surface with their 

 wings. This may have suggested a disappearance beneath the 

 surface. 



Now let us consider some of the various conditions under which 

 migration is practised. Birds must of course have their plumage 

 at its best to undertake the enormous flight required of them, so 

 that young birds generally migrate as soon as all their feathers are 

 fully developed, and the adults start for their autumn migration 

 soon after moulting. The typical wings of migratory birds are 

 long, and pointed, ard flat, and the plumage is generally close and 

 compact. Many migratory birds moult twice a year, in spring and 

 autumn. A very few (common sandpiper) moult in autumn after 

 their migration. The order in which the individuals of a species 

 migrate is generally very regular. Birds, which for some reason 

 or another have not been able to breed, or have accidentally lost 

 their eggs or young broods, leave their summer quarters first. 

 They are the pioneers, the •' avant courieres " of the migratory 

 army, and they are but few in number. Strange, impossible as it 

 may seem, the young birds that have never travelled before are the 

 next to start 1 They travel in their first plumage, and often start 

 as soon as they can fly. Later come the adulc males, then the 

 adult females, and then birds that have been delayed by accident 



