FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE / UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | |
| PREFACE | [1] |
| INTRODUCTION | [2] |
| THE HISTORY AND SCOPE OF MIGRATION | [4] |
| TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING MIGRATION | [7] |
| Direct Observation | [7] |
| Aural | [8] |
| Preserved Specimens | [8] |
| Marking | [8] |
| Bands, Collars, Streamers | [8] |
| Radio Tracking | [10] |
| Radar Observation | [10] |
| Laboratory | [11] |
| Orientation and Navigation | [11] |
| Physiology of Migration | [11] |
| ADVANTAGES OF MIGRATION | [13] |
| STIMULUS FOR MIGRATION | [15] |
| WHEN BIRDS MIGRATE | [17] |
| Time of Year | [17] |
| Time of Day | [20] |
| SPEED OF FLIGHT AND MIGRATION | [25] |
| ALTITUDE OF FLIGHT AND MIGRATION | [32] |
| SEGREGATION DURING MIGRATION | [35] |
| By Individuals or Groups of Species | [35] |
| By Age | [36] |
| By Sex | [38] |
| By Kinds of Flocks | [40] |
| WHERE BIRDS MIGRATE | [41] |
| Migration by Populations Within Species | [41] |
| Fall Flights Not Far South of Breeding Range | [42] |
| Long Distance Migration | [44] |
| ORIENTATION AND NAVIGATION | [47] |
| INFLUENCE OF WEATHER | [51] |
| INFLUENCE OF TOPOGRAPHY | [56] |
| PERILS OF MIGRATION | [58] |
| Storms | [58] |
| Aerial Obstructions | [58] |
| Exhaustion | [59] |
| ROUTES OF MIGRATION | [61] |
| General Considerations | [61] |
| Flyways and Corridors | [62] |
| Narrow Routes | [65] |
| Converging Routes | [65] |
| Principal Routes From North America | [69] |
| Atlantic Oceanic Route | [69] |
| Atlantic Coast Route and Tributaries | [70] |
| Mackenzie Valley-Great Lakes-Mississippi Valley Route and Tributaries | [73] |
| Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Routes | [75] |
| Pacific Coast Route | [76] |
| Pacific Oceanic Route | [80] |
| Arctic Routes | [80] |
| PATTERNS OF MIGRATION | [82] |
| Loops | [82] |
| Dog-legs | [87] |
| Pelagic Wandering | [90] |
| Leap-frogging | [90] |
| Vertical Migration | [91] |
| Pre-migratory Movements | [91] |
| Vagrant Migration | [92] |
| ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF MIGRATION | [95] |
| WHERE WE STAND | [100] |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | [102] |
| LIST OF BIRD SPECIES MENTIONED IN TEXT | [115] |
PREFACE
Frederick C. Lincoln's classic work on the "Migration of Birds" first appeared in 1935. It was revised in 1950 and has been out of print for several years, after selling over 140,000 copies. Unfilled requests by many individuals, clubs, and institutions prompted the Office of Conservation Education (now the Office of Public Affairs) in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to petition another update for reissue. This publication incorporates the results gathered by research biologists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to meet these requests.
Lincoln's original intent was to present to the American public a summary of the facts on bird migration as they existed in the early 1930's. He wrote with a style that made the topic fascinating to the young and old, to the educated and uninformed, and to the ardent observer as well as the backyard watcher. An attempt has been made to retain this style, while incorporating material from often highly technical research efforts. Much of the content and organization of the original publication has been maintained, but new sections were added to incorporate recent concepts and techniques. Other concepts, known to be inconsistent with present knowledge, have been deleted. Because graphics are of utmost importance in this type of publication, most of the original figures were preserved and, where appropriate, new illustrations have been added.
Since the previous edition, tremendous progress has been made in researching and understanding bird migration; along with this increased effort has come a substantial increase in the literature devoted to the subject. Emphasis was given to reviewing literature pertaining to migration studies conducted in North America after 1950, but a number of examples from the European literature have been included to emphasize similarities and differences in migration throughout the world. Because extensive author citations tend to disrupt the flow of thought, they were kept to a minimum in the text. However, this publication is essentially a review of the literature on the subject as it existed in the early 1970's, and a rather extensive bibliography has been included to cover all the papers quoted in the text as well as the many used but not specifically cited. The bibliography, then, is primarily intended for those interested in pursuing the subject further.
INTRODUCTION
The changing picture of bird populations throughout the year intrigues those who are observant and who wish to know the source and destination of these birds. Birds are the most mobile creatures on Earth. Even man with his many vehicles of locomotion does not equal some birds in mobility. No human population moves each year as far as from the Arctic to the Antarctic and return. Yet the Arctic terns do—and without the aid of aircraft or compass.
Birds are adapted in their body structure, as no other creatures, to life in the air. Their wings, tails, hollow bones, and internal air sacs all contribute to this great faculty. These adaptations make it possible for birds to seek out environments most favorable to their needs at different times of the year. This results in the marvelous phenomenon we know as migration—the regular, seasonal movement of entire populations of birds from one geographic location to another.