Page:The Migration of Birds - Thomas A Coward - 1912.pdf/151

Rh environment and changing conditions. As Seebohm puts it, "The desire to migrate is a hereditary impulse, to which the descendants of migratory birds are subject—a force almost, if not quite, as irresistible as the hereditary impulse to breed in the spring" (44).

The route is simply the course followed between the breeding area and winter quarters; it is more or less restricted by the size of the area in which food is to he found; it is usually the most direct way from one food-base to the next, in a general direction from the seasonal bases. Most birds move between north and south, but migrations are regularly followed in other directions by some species.

Routes may follow coastlines, these providing visible landmarks, and also, for many species, plentiful fond; islands, capes, estuaries and inlets are landmarks, asylums, food~bases, and sites for congregation and departure for cross-sea passages; at these places migration is often specially noticeable. Overland routes may suggest "broad front" migration, when there are no particular restricting influences and the species have no special need for hurry. Migration at great elevations and at high rates of speed is proved, but the highest and quickest possible is as yet unascertained. It may also, under other conditions, be performed at low elevations