Migration of Birds

The subject of bird migration is of special interest to Americans, because it is probable that migrating birds aided Columbus in the discovery of America. During the latter part of his voyage, when his sailors were beginning to mutiny, he fell in with flocks of birds which were making their annual flight from the Bermudas to the Bahamas. Columbus followed these birds and was thus guided to land. Otherwise it is quite possible that he could not have induced his sailors to continue farther, and thus the discovery of America would have been postponed.

Recent records of migration. During recent years, there has been kept at Washington a very complete record of the facts of migration, relating to the times and routes of migration and to the winter homes of birds. For more than twenty years these records have been collected by the Bureau of Biological Survey, through the cooperation of over two thousand bird students throughout North America, so that now they have a large array of reliable data regarding bird migration, comprising over a half-million records.
Changes due to migration. The conspicuous seasonal changes in bird life which occur regularly every year are due to bird migration. Birds may be divided into four groups in accordance with the portion of the year that they remain in a given locality. Permanent residents remain in a locality all the year. In the cold Northern States these include such common birds as the blue jay, nuthatch, chickadee, downy woodpecker, goldfinch, and a few others. Farther south the list becomes longer.

Summer residents remain for the summer only, during which season they are nesting. They spend the winter in regions farther south. Most of the common birds found during the summer in the northeastern section of the United States belong to this group, such as the oriole and the house wren.

Winter residents are found in a locality only during the winter, the summer being spent in regions farther north. In the Northern States, this group includes such birds as the winter wren, snow bunting, tree sparrow, redpoll, and red-breasted nuthatch.
Transient visitants are birds which are seen for a few weeks in the spring and again for a few weeks in the fall as they are migrating. These birds spend the winter farther south and the summer farther north, and are seen only when passing through, on their way to and from their breeding-grounds. Many warbiers belong to this group. The birds which belong in each of these four groups vary according to the locality.

The general changes in bird life due to migration which occur annually in any locality may be briefly summarized as follows: During the winter months the birds found in a locality belong to the permanent residents and winter residents. For several months there is little change in the kinds of birds seen. But beginning with the early spring the migration commences, the exact date varying with the latitude and the weather. New birds continue to come in large numbers up to the middle or last of May, some remaining for the summer and others passing farther north. Meanwhile the winter residents have been leaving. Then follows the breeding-season, and for several months there is little change in the kinds of birds seen. About the first of September the fall migration begins, extending into November, the birds gradually leaving for the South, slipping away so quietly that they may be gone for some time before their absence is noted. In the late fall the winter residents arrive, and bird life settles down again to the winter quiet. Thus this annual change occurs year alter year with great regularity.

Regularity of migration. The time at which each species of bird arrives at a certain place varies little from year to year for most birds. The date when the early migrants arrive may vary considerably according to the season, but the dates for the later migrants are fairly constant.

The order in which the various birds arrive is also well fixed. Certain birds are always among the first migrants regardless of the season, such as the robin and the bluebird, and other birds are always among the last migrants to arrive, such as the indigo bunting and wood pewee, and this order remains about the same from year to year.

Yahoo! News Search Results for migration
Yahoo! News Search Results for migration

Migration to Australia since federation: a guide to the statistics
Creator:  Janet Phillips Although permanent migration intakes over the last few years have been high in comparison to previous years, Australia?s recent population growth reflects a significant increase in temporary, not permanent migration. Social Policy read more
Unframing Migration: a photojournalism exhibition
Unframing Migration, a photographic exhibition put together by Migrants Solidarity Movement and funded by the Malta Arts Fund and Heritage Malta, is currently taking place at the Heritage Malta headquarters , in Merchants Street, Valletta until 26th September . Open from Monday to Friday , opening hours are from 07:00 CEST to 16:00 CEST. Visitors could [...]
Migration of birds a spectacle for all to enjoy
One of the many amazing spectacles of nature has started: the fall migration of birds and butterflies.
SAGE Competes Migration to Next Generation SAGE Journals Online
SAGE (http://www.sagepub.com) announced (http://www.sagepublications.com/nextgensjo/) that, with the support of HighWire 2.0 (H20) technology (http://highwire.stanford.edu/), it has completed the migration of its more than 560 journals to the next generation of SAGE Journals Online. To mark the successful migration ...
EU:Migration pact with Libya possible without huge handouts
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Open-Xchange Releases Free Migration Tool For Microsoft Outlook Users
Open-Xchange, a provider of business-class open source collaboration software, announced the availability of data migration tools for users of Microsoft Outlook to easily move e-mails, contacts, appointments and tasks to Open-Xchange Server.
Annual hawk migration draws birders to Cape May Point State Park and Pennsylv...
Not long after 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the air was still cool and the sun was just a glow on the horizon, Melissa Roach and Pete Dunne saw it through their binoculars, riding in low over the cedars: an American kestrel, also known as a sparrow hawk.
Storks and raptors herald start of migration
A White Stork. Migration coincides with the start of the autumn hunting season, which is open for five months from the 1 September to the 31 January for 32 species of wild migratory birds.
Figures show increase in net migration to UK
Rise fuelled by growing number of overseas students, data from Office of National Statistics reveals Net migration to Britain rose by 20% to 196,000 last year, fuelled by a sharp increase in the number of overseas students coming to the UK to study and a 13% fall in the number of Britons leaving to live abroad. The net migration figures, from the Office of National Statistics, reveal that the ...
PC Migration Software helps users move from PC to Mac.
Designed to copy all selected files and folders from PC to Mac, Switch and Sync(TM) automatically converts email, contacts, and calendars from PC format for use on Mac with programs such as Apple Mail and Entourage. Program keeps all files and folders up-to-date with automated synchronization and SpeedSync® technology, which only syncs portions of files that have been changed. Software also uses ...