THE DEPARTURE OE THE BIRDS. 



K. R. NICHOLSON. 



Much has been written about the ar- 

 rival of the birds in spring, but little of 

 their departure in fall. This is but natural, 

 for their joyous return from the South is 

 far more interesting and significant than 

 their departure in the autumn. 



In Southwestern Ontario the nesting sea- 

 son of most birds is over by the time the 

 hot weather begins. Many then go farther 

 North, while others resort to the neighbor- 

 hood of the lakes and rivers, where food 

 is abundant. There they remain till moult- 

 ing is over, and they have gained new, 

 strong feathers for their long Southward 

 flight. 



Nearly all birds wear their most attract- 

 ive plumage in spring, for the wooing and 

 winning of their mates. They are con- 

 spicuous at that season because the trees 

 do not yet have leaves to conceal the birds 

 as they flit among the branches. By 

 autumn the males have shed their brilliant 

 nuptial feathers, have assumed modest trav- 

 eling dresses of sober colors, and often male 

 and female, old and young, are scarcely dis- 

 tinguishable. A few birds, however, such 

 as the mallard and the bittern, always wear 

 their richest and brightest colors in the 

 fall. The male mallard moults while his 

 mate is engaged in incubation, and by Oc- 

 tober he is clothed in all his splendor. 



Moulting is a trying ordeal, which most 

 of our birds undergo during the summer 

 or autumn. A complete moult, which in- 

 cludes the shedding of the large quill 

 feathers, takes place only once a year, but 

 some species, like the ptarmigan, undergo 

 a partial moult twice, and even thrice in 

 12 months. In spring the ptarmigan sports 

 a variegated plumage of black, brown and 

 white, but when nesting is over it changes 

 its wedding apparel for a quiet suit of grey. 

 When winter approaches, it comes forth 

 arrayed in pure white, with feather snow- 

 shoes. 



Some birds change color and appear to 

 have moulted, without shedding a feather. 

 This is due in some species to the trans- 

 formation of the pigment of the feathers. 

 The plumage of the redpolls does not ac- 

 tually change color, but in the spring the 

 wide grey margins of the crown and breast 

 feathers break off and reveal the glowing 

 crimson, concealed before. 



The moulting season varies in length, 

 depending on the species. Ducks and geese 

 are said to require but 4 weeks, while our 

 song birds are slower. Birds of prey take 

 the whole year to shed their quil feathers. 

 As a rule, the large wing feathers are shed 

 in pairs, one at a time from each wing, and 



thus the flight of the bird is not impaired. 

 Water fowl drop all the quill feathers 

 at one time and the birds, as far as flight 

 is concerned, become entirely helpless. 

 When moulting begins, however, they are 

 always careful not to wander far from the 

 neighborhood of water, in order that when 

 danger approaches they may flee by swim- 

 ming. 



In the fall, birds are generally silent save 

 for their call notes. Sometimes, however, 

 in autumn a lonely bachelor croons a half- 

 forgotten love song, or perhaps some young 

 males indulge in tentative warbles. Only 

 the other morning I was delighted to hear, 

 in the heart of the city, a little house wren 

 singing in a low, far-away voice, as it 

 threaded its way through the woodpile ; 

 while in a neighboring garden some migrant 

 white-throats were whistling in sweet, 

 though defective numbers. Often rare vis- 

 itors from distant Northlands abide in the 

 garden a few days to rest, before, resuming 

 their Southern pilgrimage, but few are 

 aware of their presence. 



Herr Gatke, who for over 50 years 

 studied the flight of birds on the island of 

 Heligoland, has cast much light on the sub- 

 ject of their migrations. It was long be- 

 lieved that the old and experienced birds 

 guided the young on their journey to the 

 South at the approach of winter, but Herr 

 Gatke was the first to call attention to the 

 fact that the young birds are the first to 

 leave in the autumn, the old birds following 

 some weeks later. The youn. , birds, how- 

 ever, are generally preceded by mateless 

 males. These old bachelors, distinguished 

 by their nuptial plumage, which, though 

 faded and worn, they still retained, Herr 

 Gatke found were the first to hasten South. 

 In spring the order of the return of the 

 birds is the reverse of the order of their 

 departure in the fall. . First come the old 

 males in their finest plumage, then old fe- 

 males, followed by more females and 

 young of both sexes, then young alone, 

 cripples last. 



The distances traveled by migrating birds 

 vary from a few hundred miles to about 

 7,000. Most of our Canadian birds spend 

 the winter in Mexico and the Gulf States, 

 though a great many, such as sparrows, rob- 

 ins and meadow larks, remain in the coun- 

 try from Ohio to Louisiana. The cedar 

 swamps of the Alleghany mountains, espe- 

 cially, are favorite resorts for the robins. 

 The turnstone is a great traveler, nesting in 

 Greenland and wintering in South Amer- 

 ica. The golden plover, likewise, nests in 

 the Barren Lands above the Arctic Circle 



