THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 865.— July 15th, 1913. 



THE VELOCITIES OF MIGRATORY BIRDS. 



By F. J. Stubbs. 



Mr. Gurney's remarks on the flight of migratory birds (Zool. 

 1913, p. 165) prompts me to offer a word or two on the subject. 

 Since the writing of my paper on " The Use of Wind by Migrating 

 Birds" (' Manchester Memoirs,' vol. 53, no. 15), I have seldom 

 failed to take advantage of any circumstance bearing on the 

 question that offered itself to my notice ; direct or controlled 

 experiments on normal birds are almost past hoping for, and the 

 most we can do is to make the best of chance opportunities of 

 field observation. A word of warning is necessary in connection 

 with the statistics of Pigeon-flying ; the bird is a non-migrant, 

 and its sedentary habit is a factor that leads it to cover long 

 distances. I am well aware that the figures derived from homing 

 races are very valuable, but nevertheless one ought never to 

 forget that the Domestic Pigeon is not by nature a long-distance 

 flier. I was once told by a well-known Lancashire " mapper " 

 (the official who fixes the parallel routes in Pigeon races) that a 

 Starling thrown up with the Pigeons in a race from Worcester 

 reached its home in Lancashire, one hundred miles away, far 

 ahead of the first of its larger rivals. I forget the times, and 

 I can only give the word of my informant. 



For a great number of years the study of migration has been 

 inconvenienced by the existence of one or two curious super- 

 stitions that maintain their hold in spite of attacks. One in 

 particular is the belief that migrants prefer to travel in the 

 teeth of the wind. I have been unable to learn exactly how and 

 Zool. Mh ser. vol. XVII., Juhj, 1913. v 



