﻿BIRDS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  7 
  I 
  

  

  country, 
  migrate 
  largely 
  by 
  day, 
  and 
  are 
  often 
  seen 
  as 
  they 
  pursue 
  their 
  

   way 
  at 
  a 
  moderate 
  elevation. 
  Even 
  the 
  thrushes 
  and 
  warblers 
  are 
  occasion^ 
  

   ally 
  found 
  to 
  migrate 
  by 
  day, 
  passing 
  from 
  one 
  grove 
  or 
  orchard 
  to 
  the 
  

   next 
  in 
  their 
  route. 
  At 
  such 
  times 
  they 
  fly 
  near 
  to 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  when 
  

   they 
  migrate 
  by 
  night 
  they 
  fly 
  high 
  above 
  the 
  tree 
  tops, 
  usually 
  at 
  an 
  

   altitude 
  of 
  several 
  hundred 
  feet, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  thousands 
  of 
  feet 
  above 
  

   the 
  earth. 
  

  

  The 
  instinct 
  to 
  move 
  about 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  a 
  favorable 
  food 
  sujjply 
  is 
  

   common 
  to 
  all 
  species 
  of 
  birds, 
  even 
  the 
  most 
  sedentary, 
  like 
  the 
  Canada 
  

   grouse 
  and 
  Banded-backed 
  woodpecker, 
  which 
  wander 
  about 
  within 
  the 
  

   limits 
  of 
  the 
  spruce 
  forest 
  to 
  a 
  considerable 
  extent. 
  Others, 
  like 
  the 
  Black- 
  

   backed 
  woodpecker, 
  venture 
  still 
  farther 
  and 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  in 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  

   the 
  State. 
  In 
  some 
  species, 
  like 
  the 
  common 
  Crow 
  and 
  the 
  Robin, 
  there 
  is 
  

   merely 
  a 
  withdrawal 
  from 
  the 
  northern 
  portion 
  of 
  their 
  breeding 
  grounds 
  

   while 
  as 
  species 
  they 
  are 
  resident 
  in 
  the 
  warmer 
  portions 
  of 
  their 
  range. 
  

   Thus 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  mention 
  all 
  degrees 
  of 
  the 
  migratory 
  habit 
  up 
  

   to 
  the 
  most 
  extreme, 
  represented 
  by 
  such 
  birds 
  as 
  the 
  Whistling 
  plover 
  which 
  

   breeds 
  on 
  the 
  islands 
  and 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  Arctic 
  ocean 
  and 
  passes 
  the 
  winter 
  

   as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Parana 
  and 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  Patagonia, 
  merely 
  

   visiting 
  us 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  on 
  its 
  semiannual 
  journey 
  of 
  8000 
  miles. 
  

  

  There 
  can 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  failure 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  supply 
  and 
  the 
  

   desire 
  to 
  live 
  in 
  an 
  even 
  temperature 
  are 
  factors 
  which 
  enter 
  into 
  the 
  solu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  problem 
  of 
  bird 
  migration. 
  Winter 
  drives 
  the 
  birds 
  south 
  and 
  

   like 
  so 
  many 
  chickens 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  chased 
  from 
  a 
  forbidden 
  garden 
  they 
  

   come 
  flocking 
  back 
  again 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  winter 
  has 
  withdrawn. 
  For 
  in 
  the 
  wide 
  

   northern 
  lands 
  which 
  springtime 
  opens 
  up, 
  with 
  their 
  wealth 
  of 
  food 
  and 
  

   shelter 
  and 
  safe 
  retreat 
  for 
  rearing 
  their 
  young, 
  the 
  birds 
  have 
  ample 
  reason 
  

   to 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  spot 
  of 
  their 
  nativity. 
  Undoubtedly 
  the 
  glacial 
  period 
  had 
  

   much 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  accentuating 
  the 
  yearly 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  seasons 
  and 
  stamping 
  

   in 
  the 
  racial 
  instinct 
  of 
  migration, 
  so 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  impulse 
  

   which 
  must 
  be 
  obeyed, 
  in 
  miany 
  instances, 
  even 
  before 
  the 
  food 
  supply 
  

   fails; 
  for 
  those 
  Avhich 
  wait 
  too 
  late 
  may 
  be 
  destro3''ed 
  before 
  the 
  winter 
  

  

  