. Bulletin. Natural history; Natuurlijke historie. 70 BIRD MIGRATION ON THE GASPE PENINSULA nocturnal flight was reduced by slow, drifting progress during the assumed days of rest. Floerike (1928) assumed the actual flying time for most birds to be not more than eight hours per day, while the stork rarely ex- ceeds four hours. Such a leisurely schedule as this would allow Gaspe thrushes to reach Boston, Massachusetts, within a week (880 kilometers direct). If they fol- lowed the coastline, distance would be increased according to the exact- ness with which they traced the shore. Overland cut-o
. Bulletin. Natural history; Natuurlijke historie. 70 BIRD MIGRATION ON THE GASPE PENINSULA nocturnal flight was reduced by slow, drifting progress during the assumed days of rest. Floerike (1928) assumed the actual flying time for most birds to be not more than eight hours per day, while the stork rarely ex- ceeds four hours. Such a leisurely schedule as this would allow Gaspe thrushes to reach Boston, Massachusetts, within a week (880 kilometers direct). If they fol- lowed the coastline, distance would be increased according to the exact- ness with which they traced the shore. Overland cut-offs would reduce the distance considerably, but not necessarily the time consumed. That hermit thrushes on the average use nearlv a month in slow travel from the latitude of Gaspe to Boston gains probability from a comparison Sept Oct-. Figure 13. Graphs of thrush occurrence in New England and in Gaspe. Fax = her- mit, m = gray-cheek, mb = Bicknell's, and u = olive-back. of the dates of greatest abundance in the two regions during the autumn migration (Fig. 13). From Campbellton at the head of Chaleur Bay, near the point on the southern Gaspe coast where thrushes must surely leave the peninsula, the air-line distance to Boston is approximately 500 miles. Judging by their behavior in Gaspe none would fly so direct a course. Should they follow the coast of the Maritime Provinces, omitting Nova Scotia, they would travel 690 miles. Gircum-migration of Nova Scotia as far as its southern tip would add 580 miles and necessitate a flight either across Massachusetts Bay, or more probably back northward along the Fundy coast. Many par- tially reverse their course rather than cross the narrow Gaspe Bay; and similar behavior has been reported northwest of Gape May along Dela- ware Bay (Allen and Peterson, 1936). Inspection of the map may admit- tedly raise doubt as to whether consideration should be given to such a roundabout course as the outer coast of Nova Scotia would require. B
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