154 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Of the birds that visit us from the 

 north in winter, most, if not all move 

 in the day time and I have yet to learn 

 that any winter visitants have ever 

 been killed by contact with electric 

 lights or wires in my neighborhood. 

 Birds that straggle about as the Pine 

 and Evening Grosbeaks, Waxwings, 

 Crossbills, Siskins and Snowbunt- 

 ings have no need to migrate at night. 



Why birds move at night is a prob- 

 lem in itself. Many are the answers 

 given, but there are good reasons for 

 disputing most of these attempted ex- 

 planations, for the reasons presented 

 are all liable to contradiction from 

 comparable cases in other birds which 

 differ in a marked degree from nearly 

 allied species; for instance, some 

 maintain that night movement is 

 chosen because of the less likelihood 

 of danger from enemies. 



If this is so, then why do not Swal- 

 lows, Hummers and many other clay 

 migrators move at night? Others 

 claim that the birds move at night in 

 order to avoid the glare of the sun. 

 This is too nonsensical to require ref- 

 utation, as are also the theories that 

 birds migrate at night that they may 

 have the day to search for their food; 

 or that they employ the hours of dark- 

 ness that they may have the stars to 

 guide them on their trip. 



The truth is, that there are reasons 

 for the times selected as well as the 

 methods chosen, but we are not as yet 

 able to comprehend the principles 

 which govern the birds in their choice, 

 and speculation is idle. Practically 

 all that we know is this. -. That we 

 look about us some fine morning after 

 a shower and find a score or more of 

 arrivals that were not with us the day 

 before. 



These pleasing migrants of spring 

 come to us invariably from the south 

 and the earlier they reach us in the 

 spring or late winter then the nearer 

 they have wintered to us, while those 



species which reach us in May are, 

 many of them, known to have spent 

 the colder months in the tropics. For 

 instance, the Purple Finch, which 

 reaches us in March does not general- 

 ly migrate to the south over three or 

 four hundred miles, returning to us 

 at the opening of the season; but the 

 Redstart is known to visit Central 

 America in its winter vacation. The 

 finch finds its food of seeds distributed 

 for its refreshment; while the Redstart 

 confined to a diet of living insects, 

 must wander further to secure a living. 



The hawks are invariably migrators 

 by day and I do not learn of an in- 

 stance where these rapacious birds 

 move at night. The owls of my vicin- 

 ity are mostly permanent residents, 

 with the exception of one species. 

 Then we have several winter visitants 

 from the far north. These are all 

 night migrants as might be expected 

 in the case of birds that are princi- 

 pally night feeders. There is one 

 species of owl, the Short-eared, which 

 is transient with us, spring and fall. 

 This owl has never been seen to fly 

 about voluntarily in the day time. It 

 undoubtedly migrates at night, but it 

 secretes itself in the prairie grass and 

 passes the day in these situations. I 

 have routed a number of these owls 

 from a lot of grass and weeds, and 

 have seen as many as six or seven in 

 a group; perhaps a family. They have 

 been seen in flocks of over a score, 

 and it is the only owl which I can 

 learn about that migrates in flocks in 

 •this section. 



Birds of a species have regular 

 routes of travel in their seasonal 

 journeyings and these lines of move- 

 ment are very interesting. Some, as 

 the Golden Plover, have a route north 

 in the spring that does not take in 

 any portion of Michigan that I have 

 visited or can learn about. Therefore 

 we do not see these birds in the spring. 

 However, in the autumn the Golden 



