Archive for October, 2006
biologists.org
Kirsty J. Park1,*, Mikael Rosén2 and Anders Hedenström2
1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK and
2 Department of Animal Ecology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
*Author for correspondence (e-mail: k.j.park@stir.ac.uk)
Accepted May 14, 2001
Two barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) flying in the Lund wind tunnel were filmed using synchronised high-speed cameras to obtain posterior, ventral and lateral views of the birds in horizontal flapping flight. We investigated wingbeat kinematics, body tilt angle, tail spread and angle of attack at speeds of 4–14ms-1. Wingbeat frequency showed a clear U-shaped relationship with air speed with minima at 8.9ms-1(bird 1) and 8.7ms-1 (bird 2). A method previously used by other authors of estimating the body drag coefficient (CD,par) by obtaining agreement between the calculated minimum power (Vmin) and the observed minimum wingbeat frequency does not appear to be valid in this species, possibly due to upstroke pauses that occur at intermediate and high speeds, causing the apparent wingbeat frequency to be lower. These upstroke pauses represent flap-gliding, which is possibly a way of adjusting the force generated to the requirements at medium and high speeds, similar to the flap-bound mode of flight in other species. Body tilt angle, tail spread and angle of attack all increase with decreasing speed, thereby providing an additional lift surface and suggesting an important aerodynamic function for the tail at low speeds in forward flight. Results from this study indicate the high plasticity in the wingbeat kinematics and use of the tail that birds have available to them in order to adjust the lift and power output required for flight.
Key words: flight, kinematics, wind tunnel, flap-gliding, barn swallow, Hirundo rustica.
October 13th, 2006
pnas.or
DW Winkler and FH Sheldon
Nest construction is more diverse in the Hirundinidae than in any other family of oscine birds. To explore the evolution of this diversity, we superimposed nest data on a DNA-hybridization phylogeny of 17 swallow species. Nest construction is tightly linked to the inferred evolutionary history. Burrowing appears to be the primitive nesting mode, and burrowing ancestors gave rise to cavity-adopting and mud-nesting clades. Obligate cavity adoption is mostly confined to a monophyletic clade in the New World, and the diversification of obligate nest adopters appears to be tied to the richness of forest habitats and recent active mountain building there. Construction of mud nests originated only once in the history of the group, and mud-nesters have diversified principally in Africa, where a drier climatic history has favored their mode of nesting. The use of pure mud to construct a hanging nest is unique among all birds, and we infer that mud nests have increased in complexity during evolution from simple mud cups to fully enclosed retort-shaped nests. This increased complexity appears to have been the critical precursor for the evolution of high-density colonial mud-nesters.
October 13th, 2006
suite101.com
It bears emphasis that the Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) was obviously not always known as a chimney-dweller. Humans can take a certain amount of pride in the fact that we have helped in the survival of at least one species. Perhaps the most commonly known swift is the Chimney Swift. This cigar-shaped bird used to make its home in hollow trees, canyon crevices, or cave walls. Some still do, but the ‘citified’ birds have adapted well to chimney living. Even country swifts are improvising, sometimes choosing to make their nests in silos Swifts closely resemble swallows in both appearance and behavior, but they are really not related at all. They do spend the majority of their time in the air feeding on small insects however they tend to fly much higher than swallows or martins. Chimney Swifts spend their winters in central or South America. When summer arrives, they choose the eastern United State and the lower part of eastern Canada. Being well suited for flight, the Chimney Swift has long wings that allow for rapid, stiff, wing-beats. This speed allows them to fly in a more direct pattern as compared to the traversing flight of other birds. Their short, stubby tails have a squared look to them with small projecting quills. They are dark in color, and unless seen by a savvy birder, would not be easily identified by the inexperienced eye.
The Chimney Swift is about 5″ in length (12.5 cm). The birds build a hammock-like nest of twigs and grasses held together by saliva against the inside walls of chimneys, or other such buildings. It is just after dusk when the swifts flock above their chimney dwellings in circular flight patterns, preparing to roost.
When male and female swifts breed, they perform courting rituals that involve sustained flight and the triumph of the fittest. The actual mating takes place in the air during flight. Females lay a clutch of 3-5 round, white eggs. Incubation is 19 days. Once hatched, they begin life at about the size of a thumbnail! Parent birds feed the young swifts by regurgitating food directly into their mouths. The young birds venture out at about 2 ½ weeks of age. They exercise while in the confines of their chimney or crevice dwelling by beating their wings rapidly over and over, enabling them to gain strength and stamina. After about 26 days, fledgling swifts begin small flight maneuvers up and down the length of the chimney. By the age of 6 weeks, they are strong and ready to begin a life of aerial survival.
**author’s note** It is recommended that chimneys, smokestacks, and other such vessels be checked thoroughly before any burning is begun during each season.
October 12th, 2006
pnas.org
(molecular systematics / nest structure / echolocation / birds)
Patricia L. M. Lee, Dale H. Clayton, Richard Griffiths, and Roderic D. M. Page
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
Communicated by Richard Southwood, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, March 11, 1996 (received for review August 14, 1995)
Swiftlets are small insectivorous birds, many of which nest in caves and are known to echolocate. Due to a lack of distinguishing morphological characters, the taxonomy of swiftlets is primarily based on the presence or absence of echolocating ability, together with nest characters. To test the reliability of these behavioral characters, we constructed an independent phylogeny using cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequences from swiftlets and their relatives. This phylogeny is broadly consistent with the higher classification of swifts but does not support the monophyly of swiftlets. Echolocating swiftlets (Aerodramus) and the nonecholocating “giant swiftlet” (Hydrochous gigas) group together, but the remaining nonecholocating swiftlets belonging to Collocalia are not sister taxa to these swiftlets. While echolocation may be a synapomorphy of Aerodramus (perhaps secondarily lost in Hydrochous), no character of Aerodramus nests showed a statistically significant fit to the molecular phylogeny, indicating that nest characters are not phylogenetically reliable in this group.
  Present address: Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom.
  Present address: Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, U.K.
October 11th, 2006
birds.poland.pl/
An albino swallow with white feathers and red eyes has been found on a farm in Ostrzeszow, Greater Poland. The bird is the first white swallow which has been ringed.
These navy blue, black and white birds with a characteristic rusty spot on a throat are very numerous in Poland. Yet albino swallows are very rare. The albino bird is born when, due to genetic mutations, it lacks a special dye.
The ornithologist emphasise that the unusual colour of the albino bird will not be helpful – it makes it is easily noticeable, thus seriously threatened by predators.
The family of swallows is represented in Poland by swallows, sand martins and house martins. Sand martins breed in riverbanks, lakesides and sandpits, while house martins breed in towns and villages and on farm buildings. The exact number of swallows in Poland is not known – estimations vary from one million to 10 million birds.
October 11th, 2006
Desicritics.org, India - Oct 1, 2006
Migrations have been a problem since the year dot. Whether we are talking about animals, birds, or people, we always have issues in some shape or form. In particular, when talking about human migrations, we have this to thank for the current debate about who belongs where. We also have migrations to thank for the birth of the conflict between hunters and farmers, for changing demographics and for wars. We have migrations to thank for language development, for the employment of legions of anthropologists, for the rise in imperialism.
Let us take a look at two types of human behaviour related to migrations (economic and political) with two examples each, which both came as a surprise and which we don’t know how to handle cleanly. The biggest migrations of the 20th century happened during the Partition of India, the migration in and out of Israel/Palestine, the migration of non-Western Europeans into Western Europe and migrating Mexicans into USA. In each of these cases, one of the most curious elements was the large amount of surprise at the phenomena. Out of all explanations, economics provided me with a good workable explanation.
As usual, many things came together for this essay. The first was when I read one of the finest and least biased books on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis, namely Righteous Victims by Benny Morris. The second was an op-ed I read in The Financial Times about how Western Europe was taken by surprise by the sheer number of Eastern European migrants after the accession of ten Eastern European countries to the EU. The third was another article in The Financial Times the same day, talking about the lack of human capital within the Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin migrants in the UK. The fourth was an article in The New York Times about the total confusion and chaos behind the American policy and responses towards Mexican immigration and finally a book on global explorations and migrations by Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto called Pathfinders, A Global History of Exploration.
As I have mentioned before in these pages, I am an immigrant son of an immigrant. My father escaped from what is now Bangladesh as a refugee into India proper during British time in India. I, on the other hand, have settled in London, but have joined what is called “the tribe of International citizens.”
To go back to those horrific Partition times, it was one of the largest semi-forced political migrations known to man. The estimates of the two-way traffic between India and Pakistan range from five to fifteen million. Despite the original pious idea that this migration would have settled the issue once and for all, it is still bleeding almost every Indian Subcontinent country. In the past sixty odd years since independence, the percentage of minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh has dramatically dropped. Sub-continental minorities are still looked on with suspicion and there is no true secular treatment, such as the lack of a uniform civil code.
Bangladeshis come over the fence into India by the thousands every month, so much that they have changed the demographic balance dramatically in the North-East of India. Sri Lankan Tamils have migrated into India and beyond; Nepalis have total freedom to move in and out of India and India has special Gurkha units in its army. Tibetans have moved into India, Afghanistan saw the migration of Afghans into Pakistan and Iran and then back. Kashmiri Muslims moved to Pakistan, while Kashmiri Hindus moved outside of Kashmir and so on and so forth.
It is so bad that most of the frontiers in the subcontinent are now getting the equivalent of the Churchillian Iron Curtain with fences, minefields, army patrolling, frequent accusations of forced migrations, suspicion of migrants and minorities. If I wear the economist hat, then the demand side is high, because of reasons such as physical security and economic opportunities while the supply side is present because of the flip side of large poor and scared minorities.
The other side of the world is seeing a massive migration of Hispanic, mainly Mexican, immigrants to the United States of America. The Federal and State governments, the two major parties, non-governmental organisations, civic society, media and all the rest of the Tocqueville institutions are all over this issue. A country built on immigration and resting on an iconic Statue of Liberty proclaiming,
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door,
is now frantically thrashing about, trying to find a compelling and coherent response to this problem. Again this has come as a surprise after a certain level of immigration has been reached. In many parts of the country, Hispanic minorities are heading towards becoming a majority. And the natives are restless, if you excuse the pun. Bottom line, the income differential between USA and Mexico is just too high just like we see between Bangladesh and India; the Mexicans are haring across the boundary, at the risk of life and limb because of deserts, snakes, robbers, electrified fences, military, vigilante and police patrols, minefields, you name it. The demand is greater than the supply, therefore the attraction.
The Israeli Palestinian issue is not pure economics driven, although there are some murmurs of economic based migrations into Israel from Russia, India and other places. But the inward Israeli migration was driven less by economics than by security (shades of migrating Muslims into Pakistan). On the flip side, the migration/expulsion (depending on which side of the fence you are sitting) of Palestinians was also driven by security reasons. If it’s migration, it is then driven by security worries by the Palestinians starting from the 1948 war. If it is expulsion, then it is driven by the security worries of the Israelis about the number of Palestinians in their territory. But the pure demand-supply equation still applies. Given a limited amount (supply) of land in Israel/Palestine, and greater demand than can be satisfied, with no possibility of pricing relief, the result is war and disputes.
But the classic example which illustrates all these factors is the European Union (EU). The EU was created out of a fervent wish for peace and security after two horrific insane world wars. One of the key elements of the EU is that there must be free movement of capital, services and labour. While there are many holes and excuses in this idealised criterion, labour has been free for decades now. To evaluate how the process worked, one can just look at the level of migrations between the various countries every time there was a step change in the number of countries joining the EU. The first was the core of six countries, and there wasn’t much migration between them, because their economic conditions were at parity. Then came the UK, which joined in the 70’s and this time there was a small movement of financial sector people into London and a small number of people moving off to the continent to enjoy better weather, food and cheaper houses.
Then the EU expanded to include countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. Again migration of the Southern Europeans to other EU countries was slight. Given this history, nobody expected that the 2004 round of accession by the ten countries (including eight ex-communist countries) would suddenly throw up a major move. Expectations by the EU ran to about a hundred thousand migrants to EU initially and then declining. As it happens, there are an estimated six hundred thousand migrants into the United Kingdom alone. This had serious implications across the EU. While keeping inflation down and increasing entrepreneurial activity, the infamous Polish plumber was a major reason of the rejection of the European Constitution in France, serious immigration discussions in Germany and strong representations against allowing the next two countries in line, Bulgaria and Romania, a free right to migrate to the UK.
The last is the most surprising; a country like the UK has been historically open to migrations down the centuries and has been a strong proponent of EU expansion. For various institutions to publicly warn against an open-door policy for the migrants from the new countries is surprising yet understandable, given the rise in worries about immigration. Never mind that the EU does not have a very good reputation of integration and managing migrants. Just look at the total paucity of thought around the challenges integrating European Muslims and the knee-jerk reactions against what has now become known as “European Islam.” Look at the total fluffiness around the African migration issue into Europe with Spain, Italy, and Greece all struggling to understand, cope and manage the overwhelming waves of poor African migrants. But, fact remains, economics drove the migrations (of Muslims, Africans, as well from the new EU countries) and while not understanding the scale of the issue, politicians and the public were surprised.
While the air is free in the world, capital is (mostly) free, knowledge is free, ideas and electrons cross merrily across the global internet, people are not free. For deep-seated reasons ranging from nationalism, identity, culture and economics, people look on migrations with fear, angst, anxiety, worry and occasionally even hate. In the profound words of Yoda in Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace: “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.” One can put on the supreme idealist hat and declaim like Moses: “Let my people go,” but even if the people have gone, they have to be received somewhere. In our world, it is the reception of people which is the real challenge. The element of surprise means that measured thoughtful responses are difficult and knee-jerk reactions or blunted solutions are proposed. I am afraid there are no easy solutions, but transparency and honesty would go a long way in making this difficult transition easier.
But if one takes a long term view, as Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto did in his excellent book, one finds that over the long span of history, migrations and explorations will keep on happening. From the viewpoint of the old ages, there were explorations and now there is convergence. I strongly recommend this book for people who are concerned about very short term immigration and emigration, because as Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto says, the time of exploration will again come and humankind will be travelling amongst the stars.
All this to be taken with a grain of salt!
October 11th, 2006
Cape Codder
· 10/6/2006
Friday, October 6, 2006
Ask the Bird Folks
    Dear Bird Folks,
    So, we know that summer is officially over. What group of birds is the last to migrate south?
    -Donna, Marshfield
    Good idea Donna,
    I like that you want to base the seasonal changes on which birds are leaving. Most people base the passing of summer on the changing color of the leaves, the amount of daylight, or the length of the line at the ice cream shop. I usually feel summer is over when those wonderful yellow buses take the kids back to school, where they belong. Or when the town stops charging $35 an hour to use the beach parking lot. (Believe me, I’m not being critical of parking lot fees - as long as the money is used to keep the school buses running, I’m all for it.)
    Fall is obviously the time of a great bird migration. Birds of all shapes and sizes get out of town while the getting is good and before the getting is not so good. Which bird signals the end of summer depends on where you live and which species of birds you pay attention to the most. Here on the coast, many birders look forward to seeing the large flocks of terns staging up before they head south. Most backyard bird watchers, on the other hand, don’t even notice the terns. They are too busy counting down the days until the grackles leave.
    Other people feel that summer is over when the orioles and hummingbirds stop showing up at their feeders. When the weather turns cooler, they go out and collect their sugar water and jelly feeders. They give them a good cleaning and put them away in a special location that they will totally forget about when spring returns.
    For me, two species of birds signal the end of the summer. The first birds that I notice packing up to leave are the tree swallows. Somewhere around mid-August, I begin to see a dozen or so of these handsome green and white birds resting on the power lines. Seeing the swallows form into small flocks is a sign that if I can just hang on a few more weeks I might actually make it through another Cape Cod summer.
    Forming a small flock is just the beginning for tree swallows. Some birds, such as the kingfisher, hate each other’s company. They migrate alone and like it that way. Other birds, particularly waterfowl, feel very comfortable being with their friends. They usually head south in flocks that may number in the hundreds. But when it comes to finding friends to migrate with, it’s hard to top the tree swallow. During migration, tree swallow flocks can reach into the hundreds of thousands.
    The East Coast is a major flyway for the swallows because they are one of the few birds that are able to eat the fruit of the bayberry bush. If the insects aren’t flying, the swallows will chow down on the fragrant bayberries, which also explains why tree swallows are our best smelling swallow.
    Toward the end of every summer, I receive dozens of calls from beachcombers who come upon one of these huge flocks of swallows. Some callers are in a state of panic, thinking that the end is coming. In a way, they are right, the end is coming - the end of summer
October 10th, 2006
soupsong.com
(by A. M. Zukarnaen)
Long ago in China, there was an Emperor who loved to taste different gourmet dishes made by the Royal Cook. Each dish was exotic and different every day.
One day the cook ran out of ideas and desperately needed to find a new dish to prepare for the Emperor. The Emperor had decreed that if the cook could not prepare a new and different dish daily, that he would not only lose his position as the roayl Cook, but also his head.
The Royal Cook decided to take a walk to the harbour to see if he could find something new and exotic to cook. He came across a merchant who had showed him a bird’s nest from Borneo.
“How do I cook this?” says the cook, looking at the bird’s nest.
“You’re the cook. They eat this in Borneo; I just buy it, I don’t prepare it. It has some potent longevity properties, that’s what I was told,” said the merchant.
True to his profession, however, the cook did his best and prepared the bird’s nest in a form of soup.
Knowing the Emperor’s passion for Feng Shui and longevity, the Royal Cook cunningly presented the soup with a dragon on one side and a phoenix on the other, with the soup in the middle.
“What have you brought me today?” asked the Emperor.
“Longevity soup, Your Highness,” replied the Royal Cook.
The Emperor’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly tasted the soup. It smelled sweet and aromatic, just as he liked it; however, when he tasted the soup, it was plain. The Royal Cook held his breath.
“this tastes like ordinary soup,” he said, “I can get this anywhere in my Kingdom.”
“Taste it again, please, Your Majesty,” urged the cook.
The Emperor took another spoonful. “It still tastes ordinary.”
“Please take one more sip, Your Majesty,” the cook urged again, fearful for his life.
“All right, but if I don’t taste anything different, I’ll have your head,” threatened the Emperor.
The cook had to think fast. “In Borneo…” he started.
The Emperor’s eyes lit up, because he knew that it was an exotic place. The pillars of the Forbidden City were made from timbers that came from Borneo.
“In Borneo, the people there eat this soup for longevity. It keeps the people young and healthy. It lengthens their years, and they live long and prosperous lives because of this soup.” The cook went on about the benefits of the soup, emphasizing the longevity properties of the dish.
“Ahhh, an exotic dish. Why didn’t you say so? This dish is fit for an Emperor,” the Emperor decreed.
The Royal Cook sighed with relief, as the Emperor continued to relish his dish.
Once the Emperor had finished his meal, he announced that the longevity soup was to be served to him on a regular basis, and the Royal Cook was duly rewarded.
To keep the Emperor from finding out that the longevity soup’s raw ingredient was bird’s nest, the Royal Cook ensured that all those who brought back the birds’ nests from Borneo were killed. New crews were sent to retrieve the nests each time.
True enough, the Emperor lived a long and prosperous life.
The longevity soup was only served to the Royal Family and wealthy merchants. It was not allowed to be served to the general population.
The longevity soup became renowned as a royal dish, and its potent properties claimed by the merchant were proven to be true.
The Emperor’s successors were the ones who truly benefited from the soup, as it was served to them at an early age. And now, if the longevity soup is served to guests or VIPs, they know that the host is taking care of them. After all, the dish is fit for an Emperor.
October 9th, 2006
stanford.edu
Cowbirds laying eggs in the nests of other species exemplify avian brood parasitism. Some solitary breeding birds (especially waterfowl) occasionally parasitize their own species, producing abnormally large clutches, and cooperative breeders often have strategies for getting other members of the group to incubate their eggs. Such parasitization of conspecifics had been thought to occur widely in colonial birds as well, although it was only recently demonstrated. Cliff Swallows have now been shown to have an unusually high degree of intraspecific brood parasitism, a phenomenon enhanced by the synchronized breeding within their colonies.
In Southwestern Nebraska, Cliff Swallow colonies contain up to 3,000 nests, making them among the densest known aggregations of vertebrates. They cluster their gourd-shaped mud nests under bridges, in culverts, beneath the eaves of buildings, and on the faces of cliffs.
Attention was drawn to brood parasitism in this species in the course of a study that recorded egg-laying intervals in over 700 swallow nests. More than two eggs often appeared in a nest within a 24-hour period. As no bird is known to lay more than one egg daily, this indicated that more than one female was laying in the same nest. Following that discovery, a colony of 190 nests was observed for the entire period of egg laying, and 30 nests were selected for intensive scrutiny. About three-quarters of the swallows using those 30 nests were color banded for individual recognition. On five occasions, banded birds were seen to enter the nests of others and lay a single egg when the owners of the nest were absent; one bird was responsible for two of the parasitic incidents. All of the parasitic birds also had clutches in their own nests. It was estimated that nearly a quarter of the swallow nests in large colonies were parasitized.
Typical brood parasites such as cowbirds are notoriously quick egg layers. The parasitic swallows were also fast, each spending less than a minute in the host nest during laying. Indeed, one parasitic bird managed to lay an egg in a mere 15-second visit, while the host swallow was distracted by a battle with another intruder.
Eggs of parasites sometimes appeared in nests several days after the hosts had started to incubate their own eggs. In spite of this, the parasite eggs hatched synchronously with the host eggs. This means that they required less incubation time than the host eggs, an adaptation frequently found in brood parasites that attack members of other species. Swallows were also frequently observed entering neighbors’ nests and tossing out eggs. Presumably many of the vandals were parasites that later replaced a tossed egg with one of their own. If this is the case, then the frequency of parasitism in the study colony may be even higher than estimated from the number of appearances of “extra” eggs within a day — since many parasitic eggs would go undetected by the daily egg census. It is therefore possible that well over a quarter of the nests in some colonies harbored parasites.
Parasitized swallows fledged fewer of their own young, on average, than did swallows not burdened with “adopted” offspring. Parasitic swallows, on the other hand, increased their fitness. Not only were they successful in fledging all of their young, but all of their eggs identified as having been laid in host nests were fledged by the foster parents, as well. Instead of averaging about three young, they managed to produce four or five.
So far, it has not been possible to determine what distinguishes parasitic from host swallows. Are they genetically different, or is their parasitic behavior related to their environment? It is not clear whether the presence of a certain percentage of parasites is a stable situation, or whether high levels of parasitism might, in some manner, lead to the decline of entire colonies. Theoretically, if all birds in a colony were to take up parasitism, the fitness of all should be reduced simply from the mutual destruction of eggs.
Just as the Handbook was about to be printed Charles and Mary Brown reported (Nature 331:66-68, 7 January 1988) that Cliff Swallows actually carry their eggs in their beaks to the nests of other individuals. This is a previously unknown mode of brood parasitism, and the first systematic study of egg transport in North American birds.
October 6th, 2006
Desicritics.org, India - 2 hours ago
October 02, 2006
Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta
Migrations have been a problem since the year dot. Whether we are talking about animals, birds, or people, we always have issues in some shape or form. In particular, when talking about human migrations, we have this to thank for the current debate about who belongs where. We also have migrations to thank for the birth of the conflict between hunters and farmers, for changing demographics and for wars. We have migrations to thank for language development, for the employment of legions of anthropologists, for the rise in imperialism.
Let us take a look at two types of human behaviour related to migrations (economic and political) with two examples each, which both came as a surprise and which we don’t know how to handle cleanly. The biggest migrations of the 20th century happened during the Partition of India, the migration in and out of Israel/Palestine, the migration of non-Western Europeans into Western Europe and migrating Mexicans into USA. In each of these cases, one of the most curious elements was the large amount of surprise at the phenomena. Out of all explanations, economics provided me with a good workable explanation.
As usual, many things came together for this essay. The first was when I read one of the finest and least biased books on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis, namely Righteous Victims by Benny Morris. The second was an op-ed I read in The Financial Times about how Western Europe was taken by surprise by the sheer number of Eastern European migrants after the accession of ten Eastern European countries to the EU. The third was another article in The Financial Times the same day, talking about the lack of human capital within the Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin migrants in the UK. The fourth was an article in The New York Times about the total confusion and chaos behind the American policy and responses towards Mexican immigration and finally a book on global explorations and migrations by Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto called Pathfinders, A Global History of Exploration.
As I have mentioned before in these pages, I am an immigrant son of an immigrant. My father escaped from what is now Bangladesh as a refugee into India proper during British time in India. I, on the other hand, have settled in London, but have joined what is called “the tribe of International citizens.”
To go back to those horrific Partition times, it was one of the largest semi-forced political migrations known to man. The estimates of the two-way traffic between India and Pakistan range from five to fifteen million. Despite the original pious idea that this migration would have settled the issue once and for all, it is still bleeding almost every Indian Subcontinent country. In the past sixty odd years since independence, the percentage of minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh has dramatically dropped. Sub-continental minorities are still looked on with suspicion and there is no true secular treatment, such as the lack of a uniform civil code.
Bangladeshis come over the fence into India by the thousands every month, so much that they have changed the demographic balance dramatically in the North-East of India. Sri Lankan Tamils have migrated into India and beyond; Nepalis have total freedom to move in and out of India and India has special Gurkha units in its army. Tibetans have moved into India, Afghanistan saw the migration of Afghans into Pakistan and Iran and then back. Kashmiri Muslims moved to Pakistan, while Kashmiri Hindus moved outside of Kashmir and so on and so forth.
It is so bad that most of the frontiers in the subcontinent are now getting the equivalent of the Churchillian Iron Curtain with fences, minefields, army patrolling, frequent accusations of forced migrations, suspicion of migrants and minorities. If I wear the economist hat, then the demand side is high, because of reasons such as physical security and economic opportunities while the supply side is present because of the flip side of large poor and scared minorities.
The other side of the world is seeing a massive migration of Hispanic, mainly Mexican, immigrants to the United States of America. The Federal and State governments, the two major parties, non-governmental organisations, civic society, media and all the rest of the Tocqueville institutions are all over this issue. A country built on immigration and resting on an iconic Statue of Liberty proclaiming,
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door,”
is now frantically thrashing about, trying to find a compelling and coherent response to this problem. Again this has come as a surprise after a certain level of immigration has been reached. In many parts of the country, Hispanic minorities are heading towards becoming a majority. And the natives are restless, if you excuse the pun. Bottom line, the income differential between USA and Mexico is just too high just like we see between Bangladesh and India; the Mexicans are haring across the boundary, at the risk of life and limb because of deserts, snakes, robbers, electrified fences, military, vigilante and police patrols, minefields, you name it. The demand is greater than the supply, therefore the attraction.
The Israeli Palestinian issue is not pure economics driven, although there are some murmurs of economic based migrations into Israel from Russia, India and other places. But the inward Israeli migration was driven less by economics than by security (shades of migrating Muslims into Pakistan). On the flip side, the migration/expulsion (depending on which side of the fence you are sitting) of Palestinians was also driven by security reasons. If it’s migration, it is then driven by security worries by the Palestinians starting from the 1948 war. If it is expulsion, then it is driven by the security worries of the Israelis about the number of Palestinians in their territory. But the pure demand-supply equation still applies. Given a limited amount (supply) of land in Israel/Palestine, and greater demand than can be satisfied, with no possibility of pricing relief, the result is war and disputes.
But the classic example which illustrates all these factors is the European Union (EU). The EU was created out of a fervent wish for peace and security after two horrific insane world wars. One of the key elements of the EU is that there must be free movement of capital, services and labour. While there are many holes and excuses in this idealised criterion, labour has been free for decades now. To evaluate how the process worked, one can just look at the level of migrations between the various countries every time there was a step change in the number of countries joining the EU. The first was the core of six countries, and there wasn’t much migration between them, because their economic conditions were at parity. Then came the UK, which joined in the 70’s and this time there was a small movement of financial sector people into London and a small number of people moving off to the continent to enjoy better weather, food and cheaper houses.
Then the EU expanded to include countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. Again migration of the Southern Europeans to other EU countries was slight. Given this history, nobody expected that the 2004 round of accession by the ten countries (including eight ex-communist countries) would suddenly throw up a major move. Expectations by the EU ran to about a hundred thousand migrants to EU initially and then declining. As it happens, there are an estimated six hundred thousand migrants into the United Kingdom alone. This had serious implications across the EU. While keeping inflation down and increasing entrepreneurial activity, the infamous Polish plumber was a major reason of the rejection of the European Constitution in France, serious immigration discussions in Germany and strong representations against allowing the next two countries in line, Bulgaria and Romania, a free right to migrate to the UK.
The last is the most surprising; a country like the UK has been historically open to migrations down the centuries and has been a strong proponent of EU expansion. For various institutions to publicly warn against an open-door policy for the migrants from the new countries is surprising yet understandable, given the rise in worries about immigration. Never mind that the EU does not have a very good reputation of integration and managing migrants. Just look at the total paucity of thought around the challenges integrating European Muslims and the knee-jerk reactions against what has now become known as “European Islam.” Look at the total fluffiness around the African migration issue into Europe with Spain, Italy, and Greece all struggling to understand, cope and manage the overwhelming waves of poor African migrants. But, fact remains, economics drove the migrations (of Muslims, Africans, as well from the new EU countries) and while not understanding the scale of the issue, politicians and the public were surprised.
While the air is free in the world, capital is (mostly) free, knowledge is free, ideas and electrons cross merrily across the global internet, people are not free. For deep-seated reasons ranging from nationalism, identity, culture and economics, people look on migrations with fear, angst, anxiety, worry and occasionally even hate. In the profound words of Yoda in Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace: “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.” One can put on the supreme idealist hat and declaim like Moses: “Let my people go,” but even if the people have gone, they have to be received somewhere. In our world, it is the reception of people which is the real challenge. The element of surprise means that measured thoughtful responses are difficult and knee-jerk reactions or blunted solutions are proposed. I am afraid there are no easy solutions, but transparency and honesty would go a long way in making this difficult transition easier.
But if one takes a long term view, as Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto did in his excellent book, one finds that over the long span of history, migrations and explorations will keep on happening. From the viewpoint of the old ages, there were explorations and now there is convergence. I strongly recommend this book for people who are concerned about very short term immigration and emigration, because as Felipe Fernandez-Arnesto says, the time of exploration will again come and humankind will be travelling amongst the stars.
October 5th, 2006
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