226 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



Let us, for the present, presume that the Sandpipers, 

 seen by Mr. Wedderburn, flying due south continued their 

 course in that direction, and we shall find that they would 

 cross the latitude of the Bermudas ten degrees to the east- 

 ward of those islands ; and if we may be allowed to follow 

 the line of flight to the South American coast, we shall 

 find its termination somewhere between Paramaribo and 

 Cayanne, being forty-one degrees, or two thousand four 

 hundred and sixty miles of open sea to traverse. That 

 thousands and tens of thousands of birds, formed only 

 for existing on the land, compass this wonderful flight in 

 their annual migration to the south, is, I think, established 

 beyond a doubt. The Golden Plover of America {Chara- 

 drius marmoratus) may be quoted as a case in point, and 

 I have already noted an instance of countless flocks of 

 that species having been met with between four and five 

 hundred miles east of Bermuda. 



If seafaring men could be induced to pay some little 

 attention to these subjects, much valuable information 

 would be obtained on the hitherto mysterious movements 

 of the feathered tribes — movements too wonderful for the 

 comprehension of unreflecting minds. 



September 10th. — Succeeded in obtaining a few feathers 

 taken from the two Wild Ducks shot at Peniston's Ponds, 

 on the 15th instant, by a tailor, named John Smith, of this 

 town. As these were chiefly the purplish-green feathers 

 of the speculum, bordered with black and margined with 

 white at the extremity, there could be no doubt of their 

 belonging to the species " Obscurd," or Dusky Duck of 

 Audubon. A white quill feather of the medium size 

 accompanied these mementos of the slain, and is said to 

 have been taken from the wing-. This I believe to be 



