MIGRATION AND BIRD-RINGING

JAMAL ARA
1. One of the greatest mysteries of bird life is migration or travelling. Every year,
during autumn and early winter, birds travel from their breeding haunts in the
northern regions of Asia, Europe and America to the southern, warmer lands. They
make the return journey again during spring and early summer.
2. They are very punctual too, unless they are delayed by bad weather. We may
calculate almost to a day when we may expect our bird friends to return, carrying
winter on their backs.
3. Some species also move out of one area into another, not very far away. All birds
have a certain amount of local movement, caused by the stresses of living and the
variations in food supply. This kind of movement is particularly noticeable in
North India where the seasons are well defined.
4. Birds which spend the summer in the higher reaches of mountains come down
during the winter to the lower foothills or even the plains. This type is very
common within India where the mighty Himalayas lie close to the Indo-Gangetic
plain.
5. The brave little voyagers face many dangers and hardships, while travelling
long, long distances through the air over hill, forest and plain and over large
stretches of water. Sometimes sudden storms arise and drive them far out of their
course. Often they are blown right out to sea and they drown in the wild waves.
Then at night bright lights attract and confuse the birds.
6. Migrating birds do not fly at their fastest. The migration speed is usually from
48 to 64 km an hour and rarely exceeds 80. Small birds seldom exceed 48 km per
hour; most shore birds fly between 64 and 80 km per hour, while many ducks
travel at 80 to 96. Migrants generally fly at under 900 metres, but some travellers
have been found sometimes at greater heights.
7. Some birds make the long journey in easy stages, stopping to rest on the way.
Others fly great distances without pausing to rest and feed. Some fly by day, some
both by day and by night, but most of them speed on their way through darkness
after the sun has set.
8. Birds usually travel in flocks." The 'V' shaped formation of cranes and geese
attracts much attention as the birds speed across the sky-Swallows, flycatchers,
warblers, shorebirds and water birds begin to gather in flocks each with its own
kind and after a great deal of excited fluttering, twittering and calling, they rise up
into the air and away they go.
9. Usually the male birds go first to their breeding grounds in bachelor parties and
the female birds follow them in a few days.
10. The movement of birds with the changing seasons was known from the earliest
times, but people had strange ideas as to why the birds travelled or where they
went. To explain their absence from a place in a particular season, they said that
the birds buried themselves in the mud and slept there throughout the winter.
11. Later, detailed studies of migration started. Information was gained by directly
observing the habits of birds, and also by ringing. Bird movements are also studied
by creating artificial conditions and studying their effects on birds.
12. Today, most of the information on migration has come from ringing young and
adult birds. Ringing is done by capturing a bird and putting on to its leg a light
band of metal or plastic. The band bears a number, date, identification mark,and
the address to which the finder is requested to return the ring. The bird' is then set
free. The place where such a bird is shot, captured or found dead gives a clue to the
direction and locality to which the bird has migrated.
13.From ringing it has been proved that the main migratory movement is generally
north to south in autumn and vice versa in spring. Thus the main travellers come to
India through the north-west, and start from between Lake Baikal and the Sea of
Aral in Siberia. But some storks come over from as far as West Germany.
14. The other route used by birds from Mongolia and Chinese Turkestan is over the
passes in the north- eastern Himalayas. The main routes of entry into India are
through the passes on the north-western and north-eastern flanks of the Himalayas,
but certain birds on the direct route fly straight across the main Himalayan range14
and do not detour.
15. Ringing has proved that birds cover large distances. There is some evidence to
believe that the wood- cock on its winter movement flies from the Himalayas to
the Nigiris without a pause, a distance of 2,400 km. The wild duck comes to our
lakes from Central Asia and Siberia-flying 3,200 to 4,800 km over the Himalayas.
The rosy pastor comes from Eastern Europe or Central Asia. The wagtail, about the
size of a sparrow, comes from the Himalayan regions and Central Asia to the
plains. Smallest of all, the willow warbler-half the size of a sparrow- covers as
many as 3,200 km to reach us every winter!
16. Why do birds migrate in spite of heavy loss of life on the way? Primarily to
escape the bitter cold and a restricted food supply in the case of water birds the
food supply disappears altogether when the water freezes and the fish and other
seafood are difficult to obtain. The main reason for the spring movement is the
availability of nesting sites, and the need to escape summer heat.
17. The migration of birds is a fascinating study indeed, and there are many
unsolved problems which lie ahead. For example, how do the birds know when to
start? How do they know their way over the sea without any landmarks? How do
they manage to return year after year to the same locality? How do the young
cuckoos join the adult birds without previous experience, and without any
guidance from adult cuckoos which fly to India and Africa several weeks before
the young cuckoos are ready to leave their foster-parents? These and many more
such interesting questions lie ahead of you to solve!
JAMAL ARA
Born in 1923 in a conservative Muslim family of a police officer at Barh, Bihar,
Ara was married to Hamdi Bey, a cousin and leading journalist in Calcutta, much
against her opposition. In 1995, seven years after having stopped writing, she died,
unnoticed and unsung. Her legacy remained unrecorded till Raza Kazmi—a young
environmentalist—met her daughter and only living link, Madhuca Singh, in
Jharkhand for an essay in the recent book on female biologists titled 'Women In
The Wild'. Migration and Bird Ringing essay was taken from ‘Watching Birds’.
India's Bird Man Salim Ali knew her well. She is India's first female bird watcher
and ornithologist. But not many know of her. She was lost somewhere in the folds
of history, forgotten until a young scientist and biology researcher, Raza Kasmi,
brought her to the forefront.
Glossary
1. breeding haunts: places where birds give birth to their young
2. species; group having some common characteristics
3. stresses: difficult conditions, hardships
4. variation degree of change
5. well defined clearly marked
6. reaches (n): regions
7. flock: group of birds of the same kind
8. excited: in a state of great activity
9. fluttering: moving the wings quickly (without flying)
10. twittering soft, short sounds
11. identification mark mark showing who or what somebody or something is
12. vice-versa the other way round
13. flanks: sides of a mountain
14. range: row or line of mountains
15. detour (v): to go in a roundabout way
16. primarily in the first place, chiefly
17. restricted: limited
18. nesting sites: places made or chosen by a bird for its eggs
19. fascinating very interesting
20. landmarks: objects clearly seen from a distance and helpful in finding the way
to a place
21. foster-parents: those who act as parents in place of the real ones
I Short answer questions:
Answer each of the following questions in a sentence or two:
1. In what way is migration one of the greatest mysteries of bird life?
2. What do you think is meant by 'local movement" in paragraph 3
3. Migrating birds face two main dangers. What are they? (para 5)
4. Do all birds travel non-stop when they make long journeys? What do some birds
do? (para 7)
5. Why do you think birds travel in flocks? Can you guess?
6. There are three ways of studying bird migration. Can you name them? (paras 11,
12)
7. Can you describe how ringing is done? (para 12)
8. What are the three main routes used by migrating birds for entering India? (para
13)
9. Can you identify the two main reasons why birds migrate? (para 16)
10. There are many unsolved problems in the study of bird migration. Write down
any two of them. (para 17)
II Multiple choice questions
Complete the following sentences by choosing the best alternative under each.
Think carefully before you make your choice.
1. Birds migrate from the southern regions to the northern during
(a) autumn.
(b) early winter.
(c) spring and early summer.
(d) autumn and early winter.
2. All birds are forced to move from one area to another because of
(a) food shortage.
(b) unfavourable weather conditions.
(c) stresses of living together.
(d) all the above.
3. The maximum speed of most migrating birds is normally
(a) 48 km an hour.
(b) 64 km an hour.
(c) 80 km an hour.
(d) 96 km an hour.
4. During migration, most birds fly
(a) by day only.
(b) by day and by night.
(c) by night.
(d) without stopping to rest.
5. In early times, people believed that
(a) most birds died in winter.
(b) birds flew away to warmer places.
(c) birds moved from place to place when seasons changed.
(d) birds slept in the mud throughout the winter.
6. Ringing is done in order to
(a) find out where birds have migrated:
(b) capture birds.
(c) observe the nesting habits of birds.
(d) fix a metallic or plastic ring on a bird's leg.
7. Certain species of storks come to India from
(a) Lake Baikal.
(b) Sea of Aral in Siberia.
(c) West Germany.
(d) a place between Lake Baikal and the Sea of Aral.
8. The bird that travels the longest distance to reach India every winter is
(a) the woodcock.
(b) the wild duck.
(c) the wagtail.
(d) the willow warbler.
9. Another word for migration is _______.
a) moving
b) travelling
c) flying
d) running
10. Birds never fly at their fastest when they are ________.
a) resting
b) flying
c) migrating
d)sleeping
11.Migrating birds normally fly below a height of _______.
a) 900 metres
b) 800 metres
c) 500 metres
d) 5000 metres
12.Many birds die While they are _________.
a) sleeping
b) flying
c) migrating
d) swimming
13. The Indo-Gangetic plain is at the foot of the ________.
a) Deccan Plateau
b) Himachal Pradesh
c) Himalayas
d) Hindukush
14. At night _______ attract and confuse the birds.
a) bright lights
b) animals
c) stars
d) moon
15. Where is Sea of Aral?
a) Himalayas
b) Siberia
c) Germany
d) Mongolia
III Essay question:
1. Write an essay on the Migration of Birds.