The Migration of North American Birds (1935)Lincoln, Frederick Charles
Science
The Migration of North American Birds (1935)
Lincoln, Frederick Charles
Birds -- Migration
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 regions, 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 arrival, the record would indicate an average
daily flight of only 83 miles, a distance that could have been
covered in about 2 hours' flying time. Among the thousands of banding
records obtained in recent years, evidences of such rapid flight are
decidedly scarce, for with few exceptions all thousand-mile flights
have required 2 to 4 weeks or more. The greatest speed thus far
recorded 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 air-line, 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,
or crossing the face of the moon, have been observed to fly without
hurry or evidence of straining to attain high speed.
[Illustration: B213M
Figure 7.--Duck hawk, or peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus): a day
migrant and one of the fastest and most graceful fliers of all North
American birds.]
The speed of migration also is demonstrated by the dates of arrival,
particularly during the spring movement. The Canada goose affords
a typical example of regular, but slow, migration. Its advance
northward at this season is at the same rate as the advance of the
season (fig. 8). In fact, the isotherm of 35° F. appears to be a
governing factor in the speed at which these geese move north, and
over their entire trip the vanguard follows closely the advance of
this isotherm.
Few species perform such regular migrations, many waiting in their
winter homes until spring is well advanced and then moving rapidly
to their breeding-grounds. Sometimes this advance is so rapid that
the later migrants actually catch up with species that for a month or
more may have been pressing slowly but steadily northward.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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