A bestiary ( Latin : bestiarium vocabulum ) is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world , bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson. This reflected the belief that the world itself was the Word of God and that every living thing had its own special meaning. For example, the pelican , which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus . Thus the bestiary is also a reference to the symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature.
73-603: Edward Topsell ( circa 1572 – 1625) was an English cleric and author best remembered for his bestiary . Topsell was born and educated in Sevenoaks , Kent. He attended Christ's College, Cambridge , earned his B.A. and probably an M.A., as well, before beginning a career in the Church of England . He served as the first rector of East Hoathly in Sussex , and subsequently became the perpetual curate of St Botolph's, Aldersgate (1604). He
146-1235: A barrier, and detours avoiding such barriers are observed. For example, brent geese Branta bernicla bernicla migrating between the Taymyr Peninsula and the Wadden Sea travel via low-lying coastal feeding-areas on the White Sea and the Baltic Sea rather than directly across the Arctic Ocean and the Scandinavian mainland. Great snipes make non-stop flights of 4,000–7,000 km, lasting 60–90 h, during which they change their average cruising heights from 2,000 m (above sea level) at night to around 4,000 m during daytime. A similar situation occurs with waders (called shorebirds in North America). Many species, such as dunlin Calidris alpina and western sandpiper Calidris mauri , undertake long movements from their Arctic breeding grounds to warmer locations in
219-552: A chalk cliff collapse "while he was a schoolboy at Brighthelmstone", though the man denied being an eyewitness. However, he writes that "as to swallows being found in a torpid state during the winter in the Isle of Wight or any part of this country, I never heard any such account worth attending to", and that if early swallows "happen to find frost and snow they immediately withdraw for a time—a circumstance this much more in favour of hiding than migration", since he doubts they would "return for
292-616: A chick on the Farne Islands in Northumberland off the British east coast, reached Melbourne , Australia in just three months from fledging, a sea journey of over 22,000 km (12,000 nmi), while another also from the Farne Islands with a light level geolocator tag 'G82' covered a staggering 96,000 km (52,000 nmi) in just 10 months from the end of one breeding season to
365-503: A literary novel called "The Bestiary" (Dial, 2007) that describes a lonely young man's efforts to track down the world's most complete bestiary. John Henry Fleming's Fearsome Creatures of Florida (Pocol Press, 2009) borrows from the medieval bestiary tradition to impart moral lessons about the environment. Caspar Henderson 's The Book of Barely Imagined Beings ( Granta 2012, University of Chicago Press 2013), subtitled "A 21st Century Bestiary", explores how humans imagine animals in
438-862: A naturalist himself, relied on earlier authorities, most notably the Historiae animalium of the Swiss scholar Conrad Gessner . "I would not have the Reader," Topsell writes, "... imagine I have ... related all that is ever said of these Beasts, but only [what] is said by many." Topsell's work is remembered chiefly for its detailed and vigorous illustrations, including the famous image known as Dürer's Rhinoceros . The illustrations have been widely reproduced in many contexts, and Topsell's bestiary has been reprinted in various modern editions, usually in greatly reduced form. Topsell, repeating ancient legends, assigns exotic attributes to actual animals. He writes, for example, that: Of
511-592: A time of rapid environmental change. In July 2014, Jonathan Scott wrote The Blessed Book of Beasts , Eastern Christian Publications, featuring 101 animals from the various translations of the Bible, in keeping with the tradition of the bestiary found in the writings of the Saints, including Saint John Chrysostom . In today's world there is a discipline called cryptozoology which is the study of unknown species. This discipline can be linked to medieval bestiaries because in many cases
584-464: A timing mechanism, instead moving in response to local weather conditions. Thus mountain and moorland breeders, such as wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria and white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus , may move only altitudinally to escape the cold higher ground. Other species such as merlin Falco columbarius and Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis move further, to the coast or towards the south. Species like
657-426: A week or two to warmer latitudes". Only at the end of the eighteenth century was migration accepted as an explanation for the winter disappearance of birds from northern climes. Thomas Bewick 's A History of British Birds (Volume 1, 1797) mentions a report from "a very intelligent master of a vessel" who, "between the islands of Menorca and Majorca , saw great numbers of Swallows flying northward", and states
730-607: A year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of tubenoses , such as albatrosses , circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate 14,000 km (8,700 mi) between their northern breeding grounds and
803-627: Is a much more complex phenomenon that may include both endogenous programs as well as learning. The primary physiological cue for migration is the changes in the day length. These changes are related to hormonal changes in the birds. In the period before migration, many birds display higher activity or Zugunruhe ( German : migratory restlessness ), first described by Johann Friedrich Naumann in 1795, as well as physiological changes such as increased fat deposition. The occurrence of Zugunruhe even in cage-raised birds with no environmental cues (e.g. shortening of day and falling temperature) has pointed to
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#1732852420421876-483: Is alterable with selective breeding. Many migration routes of long-distance migratory birds are circuitous due to evolutionary history: the breeding range of Northern wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe has expanded to cover the entire Northern Hemisphere, but the species still migrates up to 14,500 km to reach ancestral wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa rather than establish new wintering grounds closer to breeding areas. A migration route often does not follow
949-567: Is an example of leap-frog migration . Many fully migratory species show leap-frog migration (birds that nest at higher latitudes spend the winter at lower latitudes), and many show the alternative, chain migration, where populations 'slide' more evenly north and south without reversing the order. Within a population, it is common for different ages and/or sexes to have different patterns of timing and distance. Female chaffinches Fringilla coelebs in Eastern Fennoscandia migrate earlier in
1022-695: Is clockwise migration, where birds flying North tend to be further West, and flying South tend to shift Eastwards. Many, if not most, birds migrate in flocks. For larger birds, flying in flocks reduces the energy cost. Geese in a V formation may conserve 12–20% of the energy they would need to fly alone. Red knots Calidris canutus and dunlins Calidris alpina were found in radar studies to fly 5 km/h (2.5 kn) faster in flocks than when they were flying alone. Birds fly at varying altitudes during migration. An expedition to Mt. Everest found skeletons of northern pintail Anas acuta and black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa at 5,000 m (16,000 ft) on
1095-651: Is evidence that this enables the migrants to obtain more of their preferred foods such as fruits. Altitudinal migration is common on mountains worldwide, such as in the Himalayas and the Andes . Dusky grouse in Colorado migrate less than a kilometer away from their summer grounds to winter sites which may be higher or lower by about 400 m in altitude than the summer sites. Many bird species in arid regions across southern Australia are nomadic; they follow water and food supply around
1168-483: Is fair to say that bestiaries and their contents gave fuel to the context behind the animals, whether real or myth, and their meanings. In modern times, artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Saul Steinberg have produced their own bestiaries. Jorge Luis Borges wrote a contemporary bestiary of sorts, the Book of Imaginary Beings , which collects imaginary beasts from bestiaries and fiction. Nicholas Christopher wrote
1241-503: Is known as "partial migration". Partial migration is very common in the southern continents; in Australia, 44% of non-passerine birds and 32% of passerine species are partially migratory. In some species, the population at higher latitudes tends to be migratory and will often winter at lower latitude. The migrating birds bypass the latitudes where other populations may be sedentary, where suitable wintering habitats may already be occupied. This
1314-634: The Etymologiae ) and Saint Ambrose expanded the religious message with reference to passages from the Bible and the Septuagint . They and other authors freely expanded or modified pre-existing models, constantly refining the moral content without interest or access to much more detail regarding the factual content. Nevertheless, the often fanciful accounts of these beasts were widely read and generally believed to be true. A few observations found in bestiaries, such as
1387-474: The Bay of Fundy and Delaware Bay . Some bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica baueri have the longest known non-stop flight of any migrant, flying 11,000 km from Alaska to their New Zealand non-breeding areas. Prior to migration, 55 percent of their bodyweight is stored as fat to fuel this uninterrupted journey. Seabird migration is similar in pattern to those of the waders and waterfowl. Some, such as
1460-688: The Bosphorus at migration times. More common species, such as the European honey buzzard Pernis apivorus , can be counted in hundreds of thousands in autumn. Other barriers, such as mountain ranges, can cause funnelling, particularly of large diurnal migrants, as in the Central American migratory bottleneck. The Batumi bottleneck in the Caucasus is one of the heaviest migratory funnels on earth, created when hundreds of thousands of soaring birds avoid flying over
1533-519: The Khumbu Glacier . Bar-headed geese Anser indicus have been recorded by GPS flying at up to 6,540 m (21,460 ft) while crossing the Himalayas, at the same time engaging in the highest rates of climb to altitude for any bird. Anecdotal reports of them flying much higher have yet to be corroborated with any direct evidence. Seabirds fly low over water but gain altitude when crossing land, and
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#17328524204211606-697: The Queen Mary Psalter ( British Library Ms. Royal 2B, vii) and the Isabella Psalter (State Library, Munich ), contain full Bestiary cycles. The bestiary in the Queen Mary Psalter is found in the "marginal" decorations that occupy about the bottom quarter of the page, and are unusually extensive and coherent in this work. In fact the bestiary has been expanded beyond the source in the Norman bestiary of Guillaume le Clerc to ninety animals. Some are placed in
1679-510: The black guillemot Cepphus grylle and some gulls , are quite sedentary; others, such as most terns and auks breeding in the temperate northern hemisphere, move varying distances south in the northern winter. The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea has the longest-distance migration of any bird, and sees more daylight than any other, moving from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic non-breeding areas. One Arctic tern, ringed (banded) as
1752-778: The dark-eyed junco migrates from subarctic and arctic climates to the contiguous United States and the American goldfinch from taiga to wintering grounds extending from the American South northwestward to Western Oregon . Some ducks, such as the garganey Anas querquedula , move completely or partially into the tropics. The European pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca follows this migratory trend, breeding in Asia and Europe and wintering in Africa. Migration routes and wintering grounds are both genetically and traditionally determined depending on
1825-455: The migration of birds, were discounted by the natural philosophers of later centuries, only to be rediscovered in the modern scientific era. Medieval bestiaries are remarkably similar in sequence of the animals of which they treat. Bestiaries were particularly popular in England and France around the 12th century and were mainly compilations of earlier texts. The Aberdeen Bestiary is one of
1898-865: The procreation of mice, Topsell writes, it "is not only by copulation, but also nature worketh wonderfully in ingenduring them by earth." Relying on the authority of "sundry learned men", Topsell includes the Gorgon , the Sphinx , the Manticore , the Lamia , the Winged Dragon and the Unicorn . He does, however, express skepticism regarding the Hydra . "It is as necessary, or rather more necessary, for most men to know how to take mice, than how to take elephants." Bestiary The bestiary —
1971-498: The turtle dove , the swift and the crane keep the time of their arrival." In the Pacific, traditional land-finding techniques used by Micronesians and Polynesians suggest that bird migration was observed and interpreted for more than 3,000 years. In Samoan tradition, for example, Tagaloa sent his daughter Sina to Earth in the form of a bird, Tuli, to find dry land, the word tuli referring specifically to land-finding waders, often to
2044-523: The 'tubenose' order Procellariiformes , are great wanderers, and the albatrosses of the southern oceans may circle the globe as they ride the " Roaring Forties " outside the breeding season. The tubenoses spread widely over large areas of open ocean, but congregate when food becomes available. Many are among the longest-distance migrants; sooty shearwaters Puffinus griseus nesting on the Falkland Islands migrate 14,000 km (7,600 nmi) between
2117-840: The Black Sea surface and across high mountains. Birds of prey such as honey buzzards which migrate using thermals lose only 10 to 20% of their weight during migration, which may explain why they forage less during migration than do smaller birds of prey with more active flight such as falcons, hawks and harriers. From observing the migration of eleven soaring bird species over the Strait of Gibraltar, species which did not advance their autumn migration dates were those with declining breeding populations in Europe. Many long-distance migrants appear to be genetically programmed to respond to changing day length. Species that move short distances, however, may not need such
2190-417: The Pacific golden plover. Aristotle, however, suggested that swallows and other birds hibernated. This belief persisted as late as 1878 when Elliott Coues listed the titles of no fewer than 182 papers dealing with the hibernation of swallows. Even the "highly observant" Gilbert White , in his posthumously published 1789 The Natural History of Selborne , quoted a man's story about swallows being found in
2263-594: The Renaissance was Johannes de Cuba 's Gart der Gesundheit which describes 122 birds and which was printed in 1485. The contents of medieval bestiaries were often obtained and created from combining older textual sources and accounts of animals, such as the Physiologus . Medieval bestiaries contained detailed descriptions and illustrations of species native to Western Europe, exotic animals and what in modern times are considered to be imaginary animals. Descriptions of
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2336-622: The Southern Hemisphere) to overwinter; In contrast, among (pelagic) seabirds, species of the Southern Hemisphere are more likely to migrate. This is because there is a large area of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, and more islands suitable for seabirds to nest. The control of migration, its timing and response are genetically controlled and appear to be a primitive trait that is present even in non-migratory species of birds. The ability to navigate and orient themselves during migration
2409-527: The animals included the physical characteristics associated with the creature, although these were often physiologically incorrect, along with the Christian morals that the animal represented. The description was then often accompanied by an artistic illustration of the animal as described in the bestiary. For example, in one bestiary the eagle is depicted in an illustration and is said to be the “king of birds.” Bestiaries were organized in different ways based upon
2482-513: The author explains how fables and bestiaries are closely linked to one another as “each chapter of a bestiary, each fable in a collection, has a text and has a meaning. This lack of separation has often been associated with the assumption that people during this time believed in what the modern period classifies as nonexistent or " imaginary creatures ". However, this assumption is currently under debate, with various explanations being offered. Some scholars, such as Pamela Gravestock , have written on
2555-405: The autumn passage of southbound passerine migrants, which it feeds to its young. A similar strategy is adopted by the greater noctule bat , which preys on nocturnal passerine migrants. The higher concentrations of migrating birds at stopover sites make them prone to parasites and pathogens, which require a heightened immune response. Within a species not all populations may be migratory; this
2628-766: The autumn than males do and the European tits of genera Parus and Cyanistes only migrate their first year. Most migrations begin with the birds starting off in a broad front. Often, this front narrows into one or more preferred routes termed flyways . These routes typically follow mountain ranges or coastlines, sometimes rivers, and may take advantage of updrafts and other wind patterns or avoid geographical barriers such as large stretches of open water. The specific routes may be genetically programmed or learned to varying degrees. The routes taken on forward and return migration are often different. A common pattern in North America
2701-576: The best known of over 50 manuscript bestiaries surviving today. Much influence comes from the Renaissance era and the general Middle Ages, as well as modern times. The Renaissance has been said to have started around the 14th century in Italy. Bestiaries influenced early heraldry in the Middle Ages, giving ideas for charges and also for the artistic form. Bestiaries continue to give inspiration to coats of arms created in our time. Two illuminated Psalters ,
2774-669: The breeding colony and the North Atlantic Ocean off Norway . Some Manx shearwaters Puffinus puffinus do this same journey in reverse. As they are long-lived birds, they may cover enormous distances during their lives; one record-breaking Manx shearwater is calculated to have flown 8 million kilometres (4.5 million nautical miles) during its over-50-year lifespan. Some large broad-winged birds rely on thermal columns of rising hot air to enable them to soar. These include many birds of prey such as vultures , eagles , and buzzards , but also storks . These birds migrate in
2847-483: The chaffinch are much less migratory in Britain than those of continental Europe, mostly not moving more than 5 km in their lives. Short-distance passerine migrants have two evolutionary origins. Those that have long-distance migrants in the same family, such as the common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita , are species of southern hemisphere origins that have progressively shortened their return migration to stay in
2920-461: The church can be during this time. Much of what is covered in the article talks about how the dragon that is mentioned in some of the bestiaries shows a glimpse of the religious significance in many of these tales. These bestiaries held much content in terms of religious significance. In almost every animal there is some way to connect it to a lesson from the church or a familiar religious story. With animals holding significance since ancient times, it
2993-455: The composition of a migrating flock, and can sometimes encode the sex of a migrating individual, and to avoid collision in the air. Nocturnal migration can be monitored using weather radar data, allowing ornithologists to estimate the number of birds migrating on a given night, and the direction of the migration. Future research includes the automatic detection and identification of nocturnally calling migrant birds. Nocturnal migrants land in
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3066-522: The correct morals they should display. All of the animals presented in the bestiaries show some sort of lesson or meaning when presented. Much of the symbolism shown of animals. Much of what is proposed by the bestiaries mentions much of paganism because of the religious significance and time period of the medieval ages. One of the main 'animals' mentioned in some of the bestiaries is dragons, which hold much significance in terms of religion and meaning. The unnatural part of dragon's history shows how important
3139-548: The country in an irregular pattern, unrelated to season but related to rainfall. Several years may pass between visits to an area by a particular species. Sometimes circumstances such as a good breeding season followed by a food source failure the following year lead to irruptions in which large numbers of a species move far beyond the normal range. Bohemian waxwings Bombycilla garrulus well show this unpredictable variation in annual numbers, with five major arrivals in Britain during
3212-495: The daytime. Migratory species in these groups have great difficulty crossing large bodies of water, since thermals only form over land, and these birds cannot maintain active flight for long distances. Mediterranean and other seas present a major obstacle to soaring birds, which must cross at the narrowest points. Massive numbers of large raptors and storks pass through areas such as the Strait of Messina , Gibraltar , Falsterbo , and
3285-414: The eagle. With animals being a part of religion before bestiaries and their lessons came out, they were influenced by past observations of meaning as well as older civilizations and their interpretations. As most of the students who read these bestiaries were monks and clerics, it is not impossible to say that there is a major religious significance within them. The bestiary was used to educate young men on
3358-809: The earliest evidence of long-distance stork migration. This bird was referred to as a Pfeilstorch , German for "Arrow stork". Since then, around 25 Pfeilstörche have been documented. Migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south, undertaken by many species of birds. Migration is marked by its annual seasonality and movement between breeding and non-breeding areas. Nonmigratory bird movements include those made in response to environmental changes including in food availability, habitat, or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular (nomadism, invasions, irruptions) or in only one direction (dispersal, movement of young away from natal area). Non-migratory birds are said to be resident or sedentary. Approximately 1,800 of
3431-412: The far south to support long-distance migration. The primary motivation for migration appears to be food; for example, some hummingbirds choose not to migrate if fed through the winter. In addition, the longer days of the northern summer provide extended time for breeding birds to feed their young. This helps diurnal birds to produce larger clutches than related non-migratory species that remain in
3504-533: The form in which it was later popularized was an anonymous 2nd-century Greek volume called the Physiologus , which itself summarized ancient knowledge and wisdom about animals in the writings of classical authors such as Aristotle 's Historia Animalium and various works by Herodotus , Pliny the Elder , Solinus , Aelian and other naturalists. Following the Physiologus , Saint Isidore of Seville (Book XII of
3577-418: The local temperature to time their spring migration departure. Notably, departure responses to temperature varied between individuals but were individually repeatable (when tracked over multiple years). This suggests that individual use of temperature is a cue that allows for population-level adaptation to climate change . In other words, in a warming world, many migratory birds are predicted to depart earlier in
3650-508: The loss. The typical image of migration is of northern land birds, such as swallows (Hirundinidae) and birds of prey, making long flights to the tropics. However, many Holarctic wildfowl and finch (Fringillidae) species winters in the North Temperate Zone , in regions with milder winters than their summer breeding grounds. For example, the pink-footed goose migrates from Iceland to Britain and neighbouring countries, whilst
3723-399: The medieval book of beasts — was among the most popular illuminated texts in northern Europe during the Middle Ages (about 500–1500). Medieval Christians understood every element of the world as a manifestation of God, and bestiaries largely focused on each animal's religious meaning. Much of what is in the bestiary came from the ancient Greeks and their philosophers. The earliest bestiary in
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#17328524204213796-427: The morning and may feed for a few days before resuming their migration. These birds are referred to as passage migrants in the regions where they occur for a short period between the origin and destination. Nocturnal migrants minimize depredation, avoid overheating, and can feed during the day. One cost of nocturnal migration is the loss of sleep. Migrants may be able to alter their quality of sleep to compensate for
3869-502: The most direct line between breeding and wintering grounds. Rather, it could follow a hooked or arched line, with detours around geographical barriers or towards suitable stopover habitat. For most land birds, such barriers could consist of large water bodies or high mountain ranges, a lack of stopover or feeding sites, or a lack of thermal columns (important for broad-winged birds). Conversely, in water-birds , large areas of land without wetlands offering suitable feeding sites may present
3942-435: The natural world. The significance shown between animals and religion started much before bestiaries came into play. In many ancient civilizations there are references to animals and their meaning within that specific religion or mythology that we know of today. These civilizations included Egypt and their gods with the faces of animals or Greece which had symbolic animals for their godly beings, an example being Zeus and
4015-458: The nineteenth century, but 18 between the years 1937 and 2000. Red crossbills Loxia curvirostra too are irruptive, with widespread invasions across England noted in 1251, 1593, 1757, and 1791. Bird migration is primarily, but not entirely, a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon. This is because continental landmasses of the northern hemisphere are almost entirely temperate and subject to winter food shortages driving bird populations south (including
4088-456: The northern hemisphere. Species that have no long-distance migratory relatives, such as the waxwings Bombycilla , are effectively moving in response to winter weather and the loss of their usual winter food, rather than enhanced breeding opportunities. In the tropics there is little variation in the length of day throughout the year, and it is always warm enough for a food supply, but altitudinal migration occurs in some tropical birds. There
4161-515: The result clearly proves, what is in fact now admitted on all hands, that Swallows do not in any material instance differ from other birds in their nature and propensities [for life in the air]; but that they leave us when this country can no longer furnish them with a supply of their proper and natural food ... In 1822, a white stork was found in the German state of Mecklenburg with an arrow made from central African hardwood, which provided some of
4234-953: The reverse pattern is seen in land birds. However most bird migration is in the range of 150 to 600 m (490–2,000 ft). Bird strike Aviation records from the United States show most collisions occur below 600 m (2,000 ft) and almost none above 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Bird migration is not limited to birds that can fly. Most species of penguin (Spheniscidae) migrate by swimming. These routes can cover over 1,000 km (550 nmi). Dusky grouse Dendragapus obscurus perform altitudinal migration mostly by walking. Emus Dromaius novaehollandiae in Australia have been observed to undertake long-distance movements on foot during droughts. During nocturnal migration ("nocmig" ), many birds give nocturnal flight calls, which are short, contact-type calls. These likely serve to maintain
4307-446: The role of circannual endogenous programs in controlling bird migrations. Caged birds display a preferential flight direction that corresponds with the migratory direction they would take in nature, changing their preferential direction at roughly the same time their wild conspecifics change course. Satellite tracking of 48 individual Asian houbaras ( Chlamydotis macqueenii ) across multiple migrations showed that this species uses
4380-428: The same hemisphere, but others such as semipalmated sandpiper C. pusilla travel longer distances to the tropics in the Southern Hemisphere. For some species of waders, migration success depends on the availability of certain key food resources at stopover points along the migration route. This gives the migrants an opportunity to refuel for the next leg of the voyage. Some examples of important stopover locations are
4453-468: The seasonal comings and goings of birds. Aristotle wrote that birds transmuted into other birds or species like fish and animals, which explained their disappearance and reappearance. Aristotle thought many birds disappeared during cold weather because they were torpid , undetected in unseen environments like tree hollows or burrowing down in mud found at the bottom of ponds, then reemerging months later. Still, Aristotle recorded that cranes traveled from
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#17328524204214526-509: The situation in Britain as follows: Swallows frequently roost at night, after they begin to congregate, by the sides of rivers and pools, from which circumstance it has been erroneously supposed that they retire into the water. Bewick then describes an experiment that succeeded in keeping swallows alive in Britain for several years, where they remained warm and dry through the winters. He concludes: These experiments have since been amply confirmed by ... M. Natterer , of Vienna ... and
4599-470: The social system of the species. In long-lived, social species such as white storks (Ciconia ciconia), flocks are often led by the oldest members and young storks learn the route on their first journey. In short-lived species that migrate alone, such as the Eurasian blackcap Sylvia atricapilla or the yellow-billed cuckoo Coccyzus americanus , first-year migrants follow a genetically determined route that
4672-477: The sources they drew upon. The descriptions could be organized by animal groupings, such as terrestrial and marine creatures, or presented in an alphabetical manner. However, the texts gave no distinction between existing and imaginary animals. Descriptions of creatures such as dragons , unicorns , basilisk , griffin and caladrius were common in such works and found intermingled amongst accounts of bears , boars , deer , lions , and elephants . In one source,
4745-521: The southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains, including the Andes and Himalayas . The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps. Writings of ancient Greeks recognized
4818-689: The start of the next, travelling not just the length of the Atlantic Ocean and the width of the Indian Ocean, but also half way across the South Pacific to the boundary between the Ross and Amundsen Seas before returning back west along the Antarctic coast and back up the Atlantic. Many tubenosed birds breed in the southern hemisphere and migrate north in the southern winter. The most pelagic species, mainly in
4891-464: The steppes of Scythia to marshes at the headwaters of the Nile , an observation repeated by Pliny the Elder in his Historia Naturalis . Two books of the Bible may address avian migration. The Book of Job notes migrations with the inquiry: "Is it by your insight that the hawk hovers, spreads its wings southward?" The Book of Jeremiah comments: "Even the stork in the heavens knows its seasons, and
4964-479: The text to make correspondences with the psalm they are illustrating. Many decide to make their own bestiary with their own observations including knowledge from previous ones. These observations can be made in text form, as well as illustrated out. The Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci also made his own bestiary. A volucrary is a similar collection of the symbols of birds that is sometimes found in conjunction with bestiaries. The most widely known volucrary in
5037-473: The theory that medieval people did not actually think such creatures existed but instead focused on the belief in the importance of the Christian morals these creatures represented, and that the importance of the moral did not change regardless if the animal existed or not. The historian of science David C. Lindberg pointed out that medieval bestiaries were rich in symbolism and allegory, so as to teach moral lessons and entertain, rather than to convey knowledge of
5110-416: The tropics. As the days shorten in autumn, the birds return to warmer regions where the available food supply varies little with the season. These advantages offset the high stress, physical exertion costs, and other risks of migration. Predation can be heightened during migration: Eleonora's falcon Falco eleonorae , which breeds on Mediterranean islands, has a very late breeding season, coordinated with
5183-444: The unknown animals can be the same, as well as having meaning or significance behind them. The lists of monsters to be found in video games (such as NetHack , Dragon Quest , and Monster Hunter ), as well as some tabletop role-playing games such as Pathfinder , are often termed bestiaries. Bird migration Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice
5256-409: The world's 10,000 bird species are long-distance migrants. Many bird populations migrate long distances along a flyway. The most common pattern involves flying north in the spring to breed in the temperate or Arctic summer and returning in the autumn to wintering grounds in warmer regions to the south. Of course, in the southern hemisphere, the directions are reversed, but there is less land area in
5329-524: Was the author of books on religious and moral themes, including The Reward of Religion (1596) and Time's Lamentation (1599), among others. Topsell's The History of Four-footed Beasts (1607) and The History of Serpents (1608), both published by William Jaggard , were reprinted together as The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents in 1658. An 1100-page treatise on zoology , Topsell's work repeats ancient and fantastic legends about actual animals, as well as reports of mythical animals. Topsell, not
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