Vol.xvn LiBBY, Nocturnal Flight of Migrating Birds. 1 45 



1899 J 



uals get separated or lost and fly in the widely divergent tracks 

 already referred to. The sudden changes in direction that were 

 observed in certain cases may tell the same story. These birds 

 had perhaps lost their way, and hearing the calls of their com- 

 rades, wheeled about to join them. The not uncommon s>ght of 

 birds of one species in a flock of a wholly different kmd also 

 shows how frequently they get lost during their migrations. 



The turning of the telescope upon this comparatively unknown 

 field suggests endless possibilities. It affords us a means of sur- 

 veying a plexus of bird life marvelously intricate and full of dis- 

 coveries. There is revealed to us a new side of the wonderfully 

 human life of the bird. We can sit quietly by while the march o 

 feathered legions goes on, - unsuspected spectators of one o 

 the great events in the world of flying things. The dangers and 

 difficulties attending such an exodus are very real. Along the 

 flanks of every company or hovering in the rear are the birds of 

 prey watching to pick off every careless straggler. The earliest 

 comers are exposed to all the risks of sudden changes m the 

 weather, and great storms like that of 1895, which destroyed so 

 many Bluebirds. The strain of such a journey is not inconsid- 

 erable, and it effectually weeds out all but the most hardy indi- 

 viduals ; the young, the sick and the old being the first to fall by 

 the way Twice each year the migratory birds attempt the mar- 

 velous feat and perform it with such silence and celerity that it 

 goes on almost unnoticed. But if each bird in his nocturnal pas- 

 sage were as luminous as a meteor, how the heavens would blaze 

 during the migrating season, and how wonderful would seem 

 their journeyings to and fro. Not the less wonderful do they 

 seem to the true bird-lover, though he can catch only stray 

 glimpses of those numberless hosts that move along their airy 

 highways with each recurring season. 



The fewness of such detailed observations as are here briefly 

 sketched leads to the conclusion that their value is not appreci- 

 ated as it should be. Those who study birds for the pure love of 

 it may find here a delightful glimpse into a fresh field. A tele- 

 scope is not a necessity, good field glasses will show aU but the 

 smallest birds. The larger the number of observers the more 

 accurate will be the general conclusions arrived at m the end.^^ 

 1 46 Murdoch, A Historical Notice of Boss's Rosy Gull. [ap'Ju 



Each may do something of value while studying in a new way the 

 familiar problems of bird life. The writer hopes simply to en- 

 courage others to work along a line which has been of so much 

 interest to him and which seems so full of riew material. 



