Zugunruhe. That’s how 18th-century German animal behaviourists referred to the seasonal restlessness of caged birds. It literally means “journey anxiety” and is strongest in migratory species, which flutter and fret in the direction they would fly if they could. I’ve recently learned that sedentary species exhibit these jitters too – prompted perhaps by a form of collective memory. I can relate to this: as the days lengthen, I wake early, dream more, fidget incessantly.
While most of our spring migrants travel north and west, I find myself pulled south, for a nocturnal assignation with one in particular.
