Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(220) THE BIRD WORLD. 
Departure of the Birds. 
The migratory birds have left our 
weather-beaten island for summer climes, 
and we feel a void, filled only by the 
thought we shall soon greet them again. 
To the lover of Nature this annual 
miracle of bird life is a subject of abid¬ 
ing interest. Where do they come from 
and whither do they go? We have but 
some vague idea. We gladly welcome 
the beautiful creatures flitting across the 
landscapes in the warm spring sunshine, 
and we see them gracefully spread theii 
wings and embark on their perilous 
flight over vast tracts of land and sea 
when the English summer is over. 
Where they Winter. 
Many of the Swallows winter in 
Africa, although their exact destination 
we can hardly determine; many of the 
clan prefer to reside during the moulting 
and holiday season far below the 
Equator. The young birds are the first 
to set sail, and their parents follow 
later on, but what instinct guides 
the youngsters on their maiden voyage 
we cannot tell. Robin Redbreast sits 
on his twig nothing daunted. I verily 
believe it is the same little wretch whom 
I saw hustle the Martin off her nest in 
the earlier months of the year. Pity 
Tis he is such a quarrelsome fellow, 
but nothing deprives him of his un¬ 
rivalled popularity. He is the hero of 
our nursery rhymes, artists love to paint 
him, and poets sing his praises. 
A Point of Debate. 
Just now naturalists are debating the 
point whether he is not ahead of all me¬ 
teorologists in his knowledge of English 
weather, that in summer and autumn he 
sings not in spite of rain, but that it 
is coming, and in winter he heralds fine 
weather. To me he sings all the year 
round, not with any mundane object or 
mere love of emotions, but because he 
is glad to be alive and means to have 
a good time. Certain it is, time does 
not wither or custom stale his infinite 
variety. 
How an Albatross Flies. 
Snapshot photographs are constantly 
adding valuable facts to the stores of 
science. They are able to detect and 
analyse motions too quick for the eye 
to follow- A recent instance of the 
application of photography to a dis¬ 
puted question of natural history is an 
experiment made on a vessel from 
British Columbia to San Francisco, one 
of the passengers thereon being a scien¬ 
tist in the employ of the United States. 
A large Albatross had been following 
the steamer and keeping pace with it 
for several hours, and the wonder grew 7 
among the watchers on shipboard as to 
how the bird was able to fly so swiftly 
while apparently keeping its wings ex¬ 
tended without flapping them. As this 
is a common manner of flight with the 
Albatross, the explanation has been 
offered that the bird takes advantage 
of slight winds and air currents, and 
so is able to glide upon what might be 
called atmospheric slopes. As the 
Albatross sailed above the ship, about 
15 ft. away, the scientist snapped his 
camera at it and obtained an astonish¬ 
ing photograph. It revealed what no 
eye had caught—the wings of the Alba¬ 
tross, each some 5 ft. long, raised high 
above its back in the act of making a 
downward stroke. The explanation 
naturally suggested is that more or less 
frequently the bird must have made a 
stroke of this kind with its wings, al¬ 
though the eye could not detect the 
motion, and that the camera chanced to 
be snapped just at the right moment. 
The Raven in Essex 
Dr. Laver, of -Colchester; contributes 
some interesting notes respecting the 
Raven, a bird once common in Essex, 
but now rare, if not entirely unknown, 
in the county. Ravens’ nests have been 
found in Essex, it seems, within 30 
years, but of late they seem to have 
entirely disappeared, together with their 
“ near relatives ” the Carrion Crows, 
who have also been exterminated by the 
increased number and increased vigi¬ 
lance of Essex gamekeepers. 
