Bird flock

“ All summer long, while berries are plenty, the flocks hold together, finding ten pairs of quiet eyes much better protection against surprises than one frightened pair. Each flock is then under the absolute authority of the mother bird; and one who follows them gets some curious and intensely interesting glimpses of a partridge’s education. If the mother bird is killed, by owl or hawk or weasel, the flock still holds together, while berries last, under the leadership of one of their own number, more bold or cunning than the others. ”

“ At sunset they quit their retreat, to ascend a stream or seek some distant feeding-ground, and travel with a slow flight, bird succeeding bird at long intervals, and uttering their far-sounding, hoarse, barking night-cry.
Where the flock lives amongst the rushes, in places where there are no trees, the birds, by breaking down the rushes across each other, construct false nests or platforms to perch on. These platforms are placed close together, usually where the rushes are thickest, and serve the birds for an entire winter. ”

“ As far as my experience goes, the movement is less evident amongst the members of a flock than when an individual is resting alone, or even with a few companions, which may be due to the fact that since some members are always awake and watchful, a bird of prey would have more difficulty in approaching a flock unawares than it would have in approaching a single individual. With the greatest ease a Sparrow-Hawk can pick up a Thrush as it feeds on the meadow by itself, but if it attempts to seize one of a flock, the chances are that its approach is signalled and that its prey escapes. ”

“ Apart from occasional manifestations of sexual emotion on the part of a male, there is nothing to disturb the harmony of the flock nor anything in the behaviour of the birds which would lead one to suspect that, when they return, their nature will change and that they will be no longer sociable; and, which is still more remarkable, no matter how great the provocation which236 an individual, when in company with the flock, may be called upon to endure, its customary hostile response will fail to be elicited. ”

“ The harsh cry of the king-crow or the shadow of a passing kite is quite sufficient to cause the instant disappearance of the little flock into the foliage.
On an average, a feeding flock thus takes alarm at least twenty times in the course of an hour. Sometimes the birds take fright for no apparent reason whatever. Their behaviour in this respect is exactly like that of chaffinches, greenfinches, etc., in England, which Edmund Selous describes so accurately in that perfect nature book Bird Watching. ”

“ No doubt the abundance or the scarcity of food does determine the movements of birds, and hence to that extent may be held to account for the flocks. But we shall but deceive ourselves if we think that it is the sole or even the principal reason, or that the situation is in no wise affected by internal factors. The behaviour of the individual in relation to the flock bears ample testimony to the presence of a gregarious impulse which derives satisfaction from the fact of close association. ”

“ But since the birds returned in a flock to the ground upon which they intended to breed, and since the flock occupied temporarily part of the ground whilst the partitioning of the remainder was still proceeding, it was possible to gauge the strength of the impulse, which was forcing the males to isolate themselves in particular areas of ground, by comparing it with the impulse to accompany the flock—and the measure of its intensity was the rapidity with which the latter impulse yielded its position of importance. ”

“ Another peculiarity of this bird may be mentioned. In the spring of the year the female birds straggle long distances from the flock, and seek temporary separation in the more open but unfrequented parts of the forest, where the male birds seldom, if ever, resort. Here they nest and rear their young. When the offspring is well grown the mother birds, with young, return to the flock, after which old and young, male and female, remain together as one family during fall and winter. ”

“ Each year his kindred trustingly followed where he led them, thousands of long, weary miles. Usually the flock flew all night. If the moon chanced to be bright, you might see from earth the shadowy forms of the geese and flocks of migrating birds pass swiftly across the surface of the moon.
Just behind Ring Neck flew the next most important bird of the flock, Black Crest, a young gander who in time would probably fall into line as chosen leader of the flock, in case the old king should drop out. ”

“ This bird, says Dr. Herbert Friedmann, Curator of Birds at the Smithsonian Institution, “is about as sociable as any bird could possibly be. It is always found in flocks, feeds in flocks, and breeds in the large, many-apartmented compound nests. With this extreme socialibility and sedentary habit of life the territorial relations of the species have been modified in a way that is quite remarkable, perhaps unique, among birds. Instead of each pair having its own breeding territory, each flock seems to have a definite territory whose boundaries are seldom crossed by individuals of other flocks. ”

“ Moreover, in some species, the male rejoins the flock at intervals during the early part of the season and for a time leads a double existence, passing backwards and forwards between its territory and the neutral ground. Its behaviour under these circumstances affords some valuable evidence, for the bird displays little if any hostility when accompanying the flock, yet when it returns to the ground over which it exercises dominion, no male can approach without being attacked. ”

“ Except when feeding, or reposing on the trees after a repast, the presence of a flock, if not seen, is certain to be indicated by their horrid screaming notes, the discordance of which may be slightly conceived by those who have heard the peculiarly loud, piercing, grating scream of the bird in captivity, always remembering the immense increase of the din occasioned by the large number of birds emitting their disagreeable notes at the same moment ”

“ At the first appearance of danger the cry of alarm is sounded, a sort of hoarse clarion call. Immediately the flock takes wing or dives under the water. In descending from the upper air and alighting on a suitable spot, the cautious bird is equally prudent. ”

“ The flock has suffered the loss of two female birds (they were probably caught by a cat) ; otherwise the company has remained intact for six weeks. As in the case of the original flock, these birds fed early in the morning, again at about 11 A. M., and were rarely seen in the afternoon. On one occasion, they left the feeding-ground by mounting high in the air and taking a long, direct flight to the westward. Besides the box elder and crab-apple seeds, the birds have eaten wild-cherry pits, poison-ivy berries, and gray-birch seeds. ”

“ Nay, it frequently happens, that if only half a flock are caught, the remainder will immediately after light in the nets, and share the same fate, and should only one bird escape, that bird will suffer itself to be pulled at till it is caught, such a fascinating power have these call-birds. ”

“ On one occasion a lame bird in the flock, which had evidently been caught in a snare and escaped with a slip noose on one leg that had cut into the flesh, making the poor bird very lame, came with the rest. ”

“ Their voices are sure to be among the first to be heard as I step out of the door in the morning, and wherever I walk—in the open country—I find myself surrounded at frequent intervals by a larger or smaller flock. Two days ago I counted forty in sight at once; and a bunch of forty bluebirds—well, there may be pleasanter sights for a bird-lover (a flock of sixty, for example) , but it is a sight to raise low spirits, especially for a man who remembers the time—after a cruel winter—when the vision of a single bird was accepted by all of us as an event to talk about. ”

“ There are, it is true, occasional displays of pugnacity which never seem to develop into anything very serious; for instance, one bird will fly at another, and a momentary scuffle is followed by a short pursuit but nothing more—nothing, that is to say, in the least comparable with the battle previously described. Of what is the flock composed? Of members of both sexes. There is no difficulty in assuring oneself that this is so. But is it entirely composed of individuals in whom development has not reached a stage adequate for the functioning of the primary dispositions? ”

“ The birds that may have been in company with a wounded one fly off uttering a few loud whistling notes. In this respect, the species differs from all the others, which commonly remain and fly about you. When on land, they are extremely wary; and unless the plants are high, and you can conceal yourself from them, it is very difficult to get near enough. Some one of the flock, acting as sentinel, raises his wings, as if about to fly, and sounds a note of alarm, on which they all raise their wings, close them again, give over feeding, and watch all your motions. ”

“ One moment the flock is vaulting through the air in short bounds, the next its members are perched in a treetop with erected crests at attention. If all is quiet without cause for suspicion, the flock begins feeding upon the insect pests, if they are in season; upon the fruit, if that is in season. So compact is the flock, both in flight and while resting, that nearly every member might be taken at a single shot. The birds are so unsuspicious that they can easily be approached, thus presenting a tempting prize to the small hunter who may design the beautiful plumage for some hat decoration. ”

“ America is destined to become the Light of the World.
With her grand Constitution for guide and compass, her boundaries will extend until her banner of true freedom and liberty shall spread its folds and protect every nation in the Western Hemisphere, gathering them into one flock and one mighty Republic.
In the year of grace, 1999, the light of God’s sun will reveal to the admiring gaze of the World, the noblest creation of Man,—a United America, the law giver unto the nations of the earth, a mighty power that shall dictate peace and banish war and make True Freedom ring throughout the world. ”

“ As they passed swiftly along stray individuals and pairs might be seen to spring up and join the flock. Other flocks would rise and the smaller coalesce with the larger until from two hundred to three or even four hundred birds were gathered in a single flock. As the size of the flock increased its movements became more and more irregular. At one moment they would glide straight along the ground, then change to a wayward flight, back and forth, twisting about with such rapidity that it was difficult to follow them with the eye. ”

“ During winter you frequently see these birds in the Southern States along the naked shores. The moment they see you the cry of alarm is sounded, and the flock, which now consists of one, two, or perhaps three families, suffer you to come almost within shot, as if purposely to tantalize you, but at this moment fly off circuitously over the water, and alight at the distance of some hundred yards. ”

“ During all their motions the entire flock moves in such unison that the alternate flashing of the underside of their wings and the dark color of the back, like the play of light and shade, makes a beautiful spectacle. When wearied of their sport the flock disbands and the birds again resume their feeding. ”

“ A flock will suddenly rise into the air almost perpendicularly, with great cawing and curious antics, until they have reached a great elevation, and then, having attained their object, whatever that may be, drop with their wings almost folded till within a short distance of the ground, when they recover their propriety, and alight either on trees or on the ground with their customary grave demeanour. ”

“ A flock is usually composed of from a dozen to thirty individuals, and when on the ground they scatter widely, running more rapidly than any other Plover I am acquainted with. When they travel the flight is swift and high, the birds much scattered. ”

“ They are very sociable, and wander about in flocks, searching for food, roosting together on the ground in a compact ring, their heads out and tails together. Being protectively colored, they usually do not fly until they are virtually tramped upon. When a flock is disturbed, they rush into the air on noisy wings and scatter in all directions. ”

“ At intervals, after the birds have been steadily pouring in their flocks for a couple of hours, the whole vast concourse rises, and, seen from a distance, the flock, composed of tens and hundreds of thousands, may then be easily mistaken for a long black cloud suspended above the wood. In a few moments it is seen to grow thin, as the flock scatters, until it almost fades away. ”

“ They then drop to the ground in twos and threes, so that, although the birds begin to return almost as soon as they have fled into the foliage, some little time elapses before the whole of the flock is again seeking food on the ground. The reformation of a flock is a pretty sight—a shower of little birds falling from a tree like leaves in autumn. ”

“ The flock often presents a front of over a thousand feet, with a depth of sixty or seventy feet; all along this line of battle the excited cries of the birds produce a loud continuous noise; all the birds are incessantly on the move, some skimming along the surface with expanded wings, others pursuing the fugitives through- 200 - the air, while all the time the hindmost birds are flying over the flock to alight in the front ranks, so that the whole body is steadily advancing, devouring the grasshoppers as it proceeds. ”