Passeriformes

“ Hundreds of sea birds are sailing around us—the spongy sea-weeds, washed from the West Indian rocks, a thousand miles away in the southern latitudes, float by in large masses—the sailors, barefoot and bareheaded, are scattered over the rigging, doing "fair-weather work"—and just in the edge of the horizon, hidden by every swell, stand two vessels with all sail spread, making, with the first fair wind they have had for many days, for America. ”

“ We have at last entered the Atlantic Ocean this morning and with a propitious breeze; the land birds have left us, and I—I leave my beloved America, my wife, my children, my friends. The purpose of this voyage is to visit not only England, but the continent of Europe, with the intention of publishing my work on the "Birds of America." If not sadly disappointed my return to these shores, these happy shores, will be the brightest day I have ever enjoyed. Oh! wife, children, friends, America, farewell! ”

“ All nature was gay; large sea-birds grazed the surface of the waves with the tips of their pinions; tunny-fish, doradoes, and fish of every other description, all glittering, shining, and sparkling, leaped up and performed a thousand quaint antics as they sported on the top of the water; sail succeeded sail every moment, as white and swelling as the bosom of a Nereid would be, could we see her rise above the billows. ”

“ On the shore they stand together in friendly groups and clusters, and leave it for those much larger gatherings where they ride, hundreds together, ducking and bobbing on the light waves like a fleet of little painted boats, each one with a highly ornamental bird- or, rather, puffin-headed prow. ”

“ Strong, powerful, and untiring in flight, they sail majestically high up in the air, not to sing a joyful song like the lark, but with piercing eye to search every corner for miles around, for animals of all sizes, from the dead ox or mule to the tiny living mouse or bird, which can serve for a meal. ”

“ On this occasion I shall mention a general remark, which ought to be applied to all the islands we have touched at during the course of our voyage. Quadrupeds, amphibious reptiles, and insects, are not numerous in islands, at some distance from a continent, and the first are not to be met with at all, unless they were formerly transported thither by men. Fishes and birds, which are able to pass through water or air, are more frequent, and in greater variety. ”

“ Every new, unusual, or extraordinary event arouses their curiosity, and incites them to make closer examination. Thus they fly to meet the boat, sweep round it five or six times in ever-narrowing circles, screaming uninterruptedly the while, thus attracting others of their own species to the spot, and rousing the attention of all the cautious birds in the colony. ”

“ At the beginning of such a voyage of exploration there are apt to be smiles at the eager zoologist emerging pale from his laboratory, but after the first time the trawl comes on board with its wonderful burden of living things of every colour and shape, each more quaint or beautiful than its neighbour, everybody on board becomes almost as enthusiastic as the zoologist who, now that he has got his sea-legs, feels himself more on an equal footing with his breezy seaman companions. ”

“ Upon a sea renowned for its storms, and off a coast that bristles with dangers, these adventurous and often beautiful little boats—sea-butterflies in appearance, sea-housewives in utility, sea-heroines in pluck—flit continually back and forth, and succeed in carrying, month after month, and with a degree of punctuality surprising under the circumstances, cargoes of commodities, passengers, and news, to the tiny settlements or single homesteads which they serve as flying bridges between solitude and the world. ”

“ THE DISTANCES TRAVELLED BY BIRDS
Not only do the distances of the migration paths of different species vary considerably, from a trip of a few miles to a voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic, but the individuals of one and the some species do not all travel to the same degree. ”

“ Nevertheless, it must be remembered that night migrants include also the snipe, sandpipers, and plovers, birds that are always -16- found in the open, and are among the more powerful fliers, some of them making flights of more than 2,000 miles across the ocean. ”

“ It's impossible for a fellow in the Strand to put a fly together which would suit fishermen like you. Observe the flies and insects of the country as they flutter under your nose, and imitate them the best way you can. ”

“ The first males to arrive are by no means the most beautiful, as we might be led to expect, neither does the evidence point to any natural law, which would imply their adherence to any fixed rule in the order in which they migrate, such as the older birds, or the most healthy and therefore, perhaps, most beautiful, arriving first. I am almost inclined to say that the later arrivals on the whole have the richest plumage—in thus speaking I refer to all species of migrants—but the evidence is of a very conflicting character. ”

“ Nor are the ships of man the only travellers we shall perceive upon this mighty map of the ocean. Flocks of sea-birds are passing and repassing, diving for their food or for pastime, migrating from shore to shore with unwearied wing and undeviating instinct, or wheeling and swarming around the rocks which they make alive and vocal by their numbers and their clanging cries. ”

“ Many birds do not absolutely confine their flight to the indentations of the coast, but fly from one headland to another, so that on the coasts of the intervening bays but little migration may be witnessed. ”

“ These modes of travelling are also adopted by those which advance along the Atlantic coasts, where, indeed, the birds have the double advantage of meeting with food and obtaining repose, on the rivers and on the sea. ”

“ The graceful marine birds which follow the ship, day after day, darting hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the occasional refuse thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were they to leave us. ”

“ The ships sailing from harbor, with all their white sails set, and bent to the breeze which wafts them into the gray mist until lost to view, express the voyage of human beings. The white birds, with flapping wings, are the purposeless spirits of the air. ”

“ No one who has at certain seasons of the year made anything that can be called a voyage at sea can have failed to observe the remarkable fact that often, when far away from land, birds other than sea birds come on board the ship. ”

“ The echoes mingle with the harsh, wailing screams, and roar of wings become almost deafening as the birds wheel in clouds above the ship, or sail swiftly away and return again like a flash to join their young, whose tiny white heads may be seen peeping anxiously above the sides of the nests. ”

“ Students of migration know that birds generally travel in waves, the magnitude of which varies with populations, species, weather, and time of year. Characteristically, one will observe a few early individuals come into an area followed by a much larger volume of migrants. ”

“ Far out on the ocean, when the vessel is laboriously making her way through the troughs and over the crests of the great waves, little birds, black save for a patch of white on the lower back, are a common sight, flying with quick irregular wing-beats, close to the surface of the troubled waters. ”

“ There are enough well-authenticated cases of the occurrence of American wild birds on the west coast of Europe to prove that the trip can be made by birds, and it is probable that successful navigation of the air will be the fruit of careful study of that natural flying-machine, a bird's wing. ”

“ Numerous birds visited the ship, such as a couple of Hoopoes, two Yellow Wagtails, a Dove, Chat, Warblers, and other species. All these birds were weary, and frequently alighted on the booms, unalarmed by the presence of the many passengers on deck. ”

“ The lone steersman of the descending boat observes the nocturnal hunter, gliding on extended pinions across the river, sailing over one hill and then another, or suddenly sweeping downwards, and again rising in the air like a moving shadow, now distinctly seen, and again mingling with the sombre shades of the surrounding woods, fading into obscurity. ”

“ The course of those wonderful swarms of fishes that take their annual journey is, I believe, less understood than the emigration of birds. I suppose them, without having any particular ground for my conjecture, to begin their voyage from beyond the extreme point of the southern continent of America. Many of the northern nations live almost entirely on fish. ”

“ For those who reside in the country and have both leisure and inclination to observe the movements and habits of birds, there is not a more entertaining occupation than that of noting the earliest arrival of the migratory species, the haunts which they select, and the wonderful diversity which they exhibit in their actions, nidification, and song. ”

“ Some writers affirm that birds only migrate on the wing, but the journey by sea of many species is varied in method. Those very regular migrants, the puffins and guillemots, which the light keepers assure us leave and return to their stations almost at fixed dates, move by slow nautical stages, swimming and feeding as they go. ”

“ So far as the eye can reach over the wrinkling sheet of the Pacific, to where its giant swells beat against bare, brown cliffs and break in smothers of hissing foam, not a sail is seen, not a sign of life, save flocks of white-winged gulls and sea-mews, or herds of barking seals that swarm on rocky islets. ”

“ With our present knowledge of bird migration it is difficult at best to recognize distinct broad belts of migration down the North American continent encompassing groups of distinct populations or species. ”

“ These include not only the permanent residents and regular migrants to our country, but also those which occasionally straggle here, so that it really comprises a large proportion of all European birds. ”

“ Soon it appeared that three laden camels were approaching, and that two of them carried riders. In a little while we saw that one of the riders wore the European dress, and at last the travellers were pronounced to be an English gentleman and his servant. By their side there were a couple, I think, of Arabs on foot, and this was the whole party.
You, you love sailing; in returning from a cruise to the English coast you see often enough a fisherman’s humble boat far away from all shores, with an ugly black sky above and an angry sea beneath. ”

“ Modes of Travelling.—The only sure method of progression in a wild land is on foot; now and then ponies or buffaloes are obtainable, and along the coast, or where there are rivers, journeys may be wholly or partially made in native boats. In walking journeys, the first care is boots. These, for hot climates, should be strong, and of English make, but light. Woollen socks are softer and better suited to tender feet than cotton ones. Native guides should be obtained from some one in authority, and passports are desirable, if not actually essential. ”

“ It will, perhaps, be most convenient, as well as most interesting, to deal first with those species that are resident on our coasts, as being the most characteristic forms of this group of shore birds. ”

“ There is a familiar story of an English bird which built its nest in an unused block in the rigging of a ship, and made one or two short voyages with the vessel while hatching its eggs. Had the young become fledged while lying in a foreign harbor, they would of course have claimed the rights of citizenship in the country where they first took to the wing. ”

“ The passengers deciding to catch some of the birds, a line, with a small baited hook, was trailed out astern, and seven pigeons were soon hauled aboard, being caught in the mouth precisely as a fish is.
The first thing any ocean bird does upon being put on the deck of a ship, is to become sea-sick ”

“ Already we began to see fish, birds flew by and all the other signs that land was near made their appearance. In a little while we saw men who were following a novel mode of sailing, being at once sailors and ships. ”

“ More than one passenger has been struck by a flying fish, and our landlady tells us of a tourist who went out for an evening ride in the motor boat to return with a black eye from the blow of a frightened flying fish. Flying fish is delicious eating, and our catch is divided up among the passengers. ”

“ If tired of contemplating these bloody reminiscences—or bathing under the sheds and awnings, where all resemble, in their saturated black frocks and trowsers, watery nuns; or if your temper is destroyed by the fleas, you can fly to the harbor, where are sturdy merchantmen reeking in guano, smoking steamers, and heavy ships of war—and thick fogs at night—or, what is more diverting, you may watch the motions of swarms of gulls that frequent the Port. Our good surgeon, who professed to be an ornithologist, called them platoon birds. ”

“ It might be expected that immigrants, on reaching our shores, would be more or less exhausted; but, on the contrary, no one who watches Sky-Larks, Crows, Jackdaws, Hawks, &c, coming in from the sea can fail to be struck by the methodical way in which they fly on, and never alight while the eye can follow them. ”

“ Ships and the men in them are very important to us—not so much down here in the South. But up North, why, if it wasn't for the ships in the winter we gulls would often have a hard time finding enough to eat. ”

“ When the imported birds arrive in port, they are hurried immediately to the importing houses, or to the different quiet aviaries in the German quarters, where experienced bird raisers take them in charge. ”