IL BIRD MIGRATION INTRODUCTION pmeof the birds show periodic movement from gation. The seasonal migration of birds is per The bird migration is a two way migr. TYPES OF BIRD MIGRATION The different types of bird migration are (i) Altitudinal migration. The migration of b; tudinal or vertical migration. This type of migrati » willow ptarmigan of Siberia, grebes and coots of And. ) Latitudinal migration. The migration of birds from, the inal migration. The birds move from Northem hemisp! The birds return to Northern hemisphere iberia visit the plains of Himalayas in India, American golden plover passes winters i as of Argentina ) Longitudinal migration. The migration of birds from East to West and vice versa is called gitudinal migration eg. The starling moves from East Europe or Asia to Atlantic coast. (iv) Total migration. If all the members of a species living in a Particular habitat participate in Migration, it is called total migration i members of a species Participate in the migration, it is called irds from mountain top to valleys is called ion is found in violet Breen swallows of Great les in Argentina, ‘North toSouth and vice versa is called here to Southern hemisphere duri during summer for feeding and nesting e.g. many (v) Partial migration. If a few migration 3. Blue jays of Canada migrate Southwards. Songthrush, finches also show) Hostile temperature. () Day length. RANGE OF MIGRATION ids upon the condit ination: ell devseed of flight MODERN'S ZOOLOGY yy; a SPEED OF MIGRATION during migration is 30 to 50 miles per hour. However, a fey, bi 4 of 200 km per hour. Other examples of migration birds having mar) on stop 200 km in 6 hours. ng non stop 880 km in 11 hours. (woodcock) covering anon-stop distance of about2,400 km fromitsnesi a to the feeding sites in Nilgiri hills of South India. er covers a non-stop distance of 2400 miles from Hudson Bay and Ala iii (Snipe) covering anon-stop distance of about 4,800 km. from Japanese summer) to East Australia and Tasmania (feeding sites in winter) ALTITUDE OF MIGRATION 5 fly up to a height of 3000 feet. Some small birds fly at the height of 3 some birds fly very close to earth e.g. ier the Himalayas at about 3000 to 4800 metres height. pintail snipe and house martin may fly during migration at’ GULARITY OF MIGRATION d accuracy in migration. These are very punctual in mig’! choice of breeding place, year after year. So birds mij site on almost the same day each season. 7 been seen to return not only to the same locality but even after year. ’ yeight of even 5100 met REGULARITY OF MIGRATION Thebinds maintain regularity and accuracy in migravion These are very pune nt in choice of breeding place, year after year ius ‘Vin m 50 birgrt irds to same site on almost the same day each season martins return been seen to return not only to the same local n swallows have puilding for nesting year after year. ROUTES OF MIGRATION the very remarkable and astonishing feature of bird migration is that they ‘reach same destination year after year. Some birds have very wide migr, fOllow y foe birds (eg. sandpipers) follow very narrow Nenetand Lenn along the cosstine sm GUIDING MECHANISM IN BIRD NAVIGATION ine for fq ow thebirds reach the same place year after year? This navigation of birds Cmnithologists. Different explanations have been given to explain this process 25 fascin ae imarks. During navigation, the sense of direction may be due to topograph; andinas)ikerivers river valleys, ion, Unt fines, oceans, seas, deserts, MOUNtain ranges CFfianation isnot satisfactory a5 most OF the birds migrate during night and they are nor an ic field. Griffin (1948) believed that the birds are guided bj Gi) Earth Magneti magnetic field, Middendroff and Yeagley put forward the hypothesis that the reacts to Coriolis effect produced by rotation of the Earth and navigate according} (ii) Telluric currents. Some scien’ birds to their destination. i scientists believe that the birds leam by their experier (iv) Experience. Some possible only if old members of the team fly with the young birds NORTH Go # Fig. 1. Gustav Kramer's experiment on starling, buteve tists have postulated that telluric air curreept that the migratin, 1g bir guide peer guided by the positio a penn ace pee Beers in England. They readin) ne hich allows them to take account of ndione asa raw "A eX Goat TSS Degledviy! we ae Seat A B Fig. 2. Franz Sauer's experiment with warblers. postulated that stars guide the noc nite throat warbler. Lirds have a built in intemal clock and compa vy Krame! ypass and hi sky during day. turnal migration of the 3.) Franz Sauer (1958) mentally on w! compass. The iss which (vi) Stars (Fig. He confirmed herited instinct. It has been proved by that ts even after their ‘entations as their paren ination complete theit jo umey nce of route and desti IRD MIGRATION E ef results from poth external and internal ee 1 stimulus emanates. ™ La ioe Jight duration in ilable for gonad northward «become ready fOrSe oe ae STIMULUS FOR BIRD RON to migrate at the appropriate seasons results from both external and internal stimuli eternal igranulus isthe variation in day length, The internal stimulus emaniee na le energy balance and physiological state of gonads. With an increase in light duration w rch), less energy is used in temperature regulation and more becomes available for gonad The activated gonads, through hormonal action, produce the "urge" to migrate northward jing. A couple of months after reaching their northern homes the birds become ready for ing and rearing young ones. _ F ‘About mid-July the gonads begin to regress, the old feathers moult, and fat accumulation starts body. Southward migration commences in mid-September. Donald Farner holds that gonad development, moulting and storage of fat depend on the long ‘of spring. Photoreceptors in the eyes and Pineal body stimulate the hypothalamus to release which in turn stimulate the pituitary gland to secrete gonadotropic hormones into LIGHT HYPOTHALAMUS ANTERIOR PITUITARY. GONADOTROPIC HORMONE . RELEASED INTO BLOOD STREAM Fig. 3. Mechanism of stimulation of bird migration. ' stream (Fig. 4). These hormones activate the gonads, causing urge to migrate northward of the gonads in mid-July does not seem to be controlled by day length. According toMODERN’ 'S Zo0t6ay = come insensitive to day length during this time. The short days ofa cre ye die birds feeny for abatiiverd migration. call eee escone migratory birds spend winter near the equator where day length is uniform war. What triggers return tonorth in these birds is difficult to explain cates rience ORIGIN OF MIGRATION To explain the origin of migration, there are two theories : (i) Northern ancestral home theory. ad (ii) Southern ancestral home theory. ee (i) Northern Ancestral Home theory. According to this theory during Pleistocene s there in Northern hemisphere and birds lived all over there. By the end of the climate changed. There was glaciation, so northern hemisphere was covered by ieee advancing glaciers, the birds were forced southwards. So this way migration started. Gi) Southern Ancestral Home theory. According to this theory, the ancestral henge Southern hemisphere. But due to over-population, these were pushed to Northern’ h somedys, the irdsretumed to Southern hemisphere. This process was repeated formany a result, the birds developed the habit of migration. ADVANTAGES OF MIGRATION The main advantages of migration are : {The birds avoid harsh climatic extremes (cold and stormy weather) ii) The migrant birds get more food and better living conditions, (ii) The migrant birds get long day light hours for searching food. Gv) The birds can use new habitats for nesting.