16 CIRCULAR 363, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, may have reached 
that point after a nonstop flight of 350 miles across the Caribbean 
Sea from the coast of Venezuela. Nevertheless, whether they continue 
such journeys day after day is doubtful. ; 
It seems more likely that migrations are performed in a leisurely 
manner, and that after a flight of a few hours the birds pause to feed 
and rest for 1 or several days, particularly if they find themselves in 
congenial surroundings. Some indication of this is found in the records 
of banded birds. Considering only the shortest intervals that have 
elapsed between banding in the North and recovery in southern re- 
gions, it is found that 
usually a month or 
more is taken to cover 
an air-line distance 
of a thousand miles. 
For example, a black 
duck (Anas rubripes) 
banded at Lake 
Scugog, Ontario, was 
killed 12 days later at 
Vicksburg, Miss. If 
the bird was taken 
shortly after its ar- 
rival, the record would 
indicate an average 
daily flight of only 83 
miles, a distance that 
could have been cov- 
ered in about 2 hours’ 
flying time. Among 
the thousands of band- 
ing records obtained 
in recent years, evi- 
dences of such rapid 
flight are decidedly 
scarce, for with few 
exceptions all thou- 
sand-mile flights have 
required 2 to 4 weeks 
B9saM or more. The great- 
FIGURE 6.—Chimney aw B speedy day erank, the Fight of which est speed thus far re- 
casions probably exceeds miles an hour. 
isha vag Bs corded for a banded 
bird is that of a mallard (A. platyrhynchos) banded on November 23, 
1930, in Green Bay, Wis., and shot 5 days later, 900 miles away, near 
Georgetown, S.C. This bird doubtless flew at least 1,000 miles in the 
5 days, as its route probably was not in a direct airline, but, even so, 
the average daily distance was only 200 miles, which could easily have 
been covered in 5 hours. 
It seems certain that migratory journeys are performed at the 
normal rate of flight, as this would best conserve the strength of the 
birds and eliminate the fatigue that would result from effort required 
for great speed. Migrating birds passing lightships and lighthouses, 
