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| − | '''Migration''' is the movement of animals (particularly [[bird]]s) to live in another place.
| + | A place where nobody dared to go |
| | + | The love that we came to know |
| | + | They call it Xanadu |
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| − | With animals, migration is usually a periodic movement to better climate or feeding areas. It is typically repeated in a similar manner each year.
| + | And now |
| | + | Open your eyes and see |
| | + | What we have made is real |
| | + | We are in Xanadu |
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| − | == Animals ==
| + | A million lights are dancing |
| | + | And there you are |
| | + | A shooting star |
| | + | An everlasting world |
| | + | And you're here with me |
| | + | Eternally |
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| − | Animal migration presents marvelous examples of good design: how do many creatures find their way to their destination?
| + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
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| − | Each year, a few towns in [[California]] are greeted by the arrival of tens of thousands of [[monarch butterfly|monarch butterflies]]. [[Pacific Grove]], California, is the peculiar destination of a huge quantity of such butterflies each year.
| + | Xanadu, your neon lights will shine |
| | + | For you, Xanadu |
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| − | The [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]] provides a description of the phenomenon.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/voyagers.html</ref> | + | The love |
| − | This report notes that one butterfly was tracked along a 1,870 mile route, from [[Ontario]] to [[Mexico]]. Its actual flight distance could easily have been two or even three times greater, because butterflies do not fly in straight lines.
| + | The echoes of long ago |
| | + | You needed the world to know |
| | + | They are in Xanadu |
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| − | How do the [[butterfly|butterflies]] navigate themselves? This ability has confounded scientists for a long time, although they now have some understanding of the incredible design features involved.
| + | The dream |
| − | But the question remains: How did these creatures acquire this ability in the first place?
| + | That came through a million years |
| | + | That lived on through all the tears |
| | + | It came to Xanadu |
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| − | Materialistic explanations are inadequate.
| + | A million lights are dancing |
| − | In [[Theory of evolution|evolutionary]] terms, butterflies are merely [[insect]]s far less developed than [[human]]s. But most humans could not even [[navigation|navigate]], unaided, 1,870 miles to a certain destination.
| + | And there you are |
| | + | A shooting star |
| | + | An everlasting world |
| | + | And you're here with me |
| | + | Eternally |
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| − | Simply recounting migration illustrates its wonder:"<ref>http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/buginfo/monarch.htm</ref>
| + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
| | + | Xanadu, Xanadu, |
| | + | (now we are here) |
| | + | In Xanadu |
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| − | {{QuoteBox|There are 12 known pockets of [[forest]]s in Mexico where Monarchs gather for the winter. They have been seen in the [[Sierra Madre Mountains]] of Mexico by the tens of millions, and estimated at 4 million butterflies per acre. All wintering sites are about 9,000 feet in elevation, generally cold with [[frost]]s at times. ... The majority of Monarchs from the east side of the [[Rocky Mountains]] overwinter in Mexico, but those from west of the Rockies overwinter in groves of [[Monterey pines]] or [[eucalyptus]] trees at sites along the California coast, from [[San Francisco]] to [[Los Angeles]].}}
| + | Now that I'm here |
| − | | + | Now that you're near in Xanadu |
| − | Even more remarkable is how many butterflies die during the migration, and yet their offspring continue on the same journey nevertheless.
| + | Now that I'm here |
| − | | + | Now that you're near in Xanadu |
| − | | + | Xanadu... |
| − | == References ==
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| − | {{reflist}}
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| − | == See also ==
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| − | * Poirier, Jules, [http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/763/ The magnificent migrating monarch] ''Creation'' 20(1):28–31, December 1997.
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| − | [[category:zoology]]
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