How Do Birds Migrate?

Borne birds fly only in the day-time ; others, sucli as the fly-catcliers, kingflshers, whip-poor-wills and night-hawks, do their traveling at night. Many journey alono or in pairs, although most imite into flocks md travel in company. The migrations of the wild goose re especially interesting. When the time for migration has come, the -wild geese assemblo and spend Borne time in a loud and animated discnssion of the journey. Tlien they all riso into the air and arrange tliemselves in two long lines, méeting like the sides of the letter V. The leader takes up his position at the point where the lines meet, and the birds begin their flight, the point of the V going flret, so that the leader is in advance of all the rest of the flock. He is always anoldganeer; only, as this position is very fatiguing, one leader does not oceupy ït very long, but, as soon as he becómes tired, falls back to the rear and allows another to tafee his place. Geese, while upon their migrations, fly very rapidly - according to some estimates, at the ratc of 120 miles an hoor, or two miles a minute. They generally rest by some pond or river a part of the night, but sometimes they fly all night as well as all day. In the day-time, when the weather is clear, they fly at a great height, often so far up that they are invisible to us, and their loud clamor is the only sign we have that they are passing. At night, or in foggy weather, they fly Hiuch nearer the earth, and whcn the air is very foggy they often become lost, and settle to wait for the mists to clear away. The distances traveled by different birds viiry very nmch. The robin, redwinged blackbird, and the like, go only far enough to rhid warmth and food, and I one of two warm days in early spriag are f enough to cali them back, which they often go sontli again. The winged blackbird is found during the whole winter as far north as Virginia, partioulariy near the sea-coast and in the vicinity of large rice and com-fields. Other birds travel much farther in their annual journeys. In the summer the humming-bird is found as for north as Hudson's bay, but it spends its ', tets in those tropical, or almost tropical, regions where Mie flowers bloom the yen-r through. As spring advances, this ! bird travels northWard f rom Mexico by j short journeys, keeping pace with the opening flowers, which aftbrd it an unfailing sttpply of holiey and insect food. Many other bird also make their i journey in short flights. This is the case S with the robin and the blue-bird, ; tliougk each is able to fly a great distance without rest, for they are said to visit Bermuda, about 300 miles from the nearest land. Most birds make their migrations by flight, but a few do not ; our coots and rails pcrform at least part of the journey on foot. All the birds so far spoken of undertake their journey at certain deftnite seasons, and their line of maroh is north and south ; but there are some birds which make migrations of a different eharacter. Wild pigeons, for instalice, move. in whatever direction they are likely to find food, as often east or west as north or soutli, and these journeys take place at any time when there is a scaroity