O. H. Men-lam — Birds of Connecticut. 97 



alighted everywhere, one above another, until solid masses were 

 formed on the branches all around. Here and there the perches gave 

 way under the weight with a crash, and, falling to the ground, de- 

 stroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups 

 with which every stick was loaded. It was a scene of uproar and 

 confusion. I found it quite useless to speak, or even to shout to 

 those persons who were nearest to me. Even the reports of the guns 

 were seldom heard, and I was made aware of the firing only by 



seeing the shooters reloading The Pigeons were constantly 



coming, and it was past midnight before I perceived a decrease in 



the number of those that arrived Towards the approach of 



day the noise in some measure subsided ; long before objects were 

 distinguishable the Pigeons began to move off in a direction quite 

 different from that in which they had arrived the evening before ; 

 and at sunrise all that were able to fly had disappeared. The howl- 

 ing of the wolves now reached our ears, and the foxes, lynxes, cou- 

 gars, bears, racoons, opossums, and pole-cats were seen sneaking off, 

 whilst Eagles and Hawks of different species, accompanied by a 

 crowd of Vultures, came to supplant them, and enjoy their share of 

 the spoil." Two farmers, "distant more than a hundred miles, had 

 driven upwards of three hundred pigs to be fattened on the Pigeons 

 which were to he slaughtered."* 



" Audubon attempts to reckon the number of Pigeons in one of 

 these flocks, and the daily quantity of food consumed by it. He 

 takes, as an example, a column of one mile in breadth, and supposes 

 it passing over us, without interruption, for three hours, at the rate 

 of one mile per minute. This will give us a parallelogram of 180 

 miles by I, averaging L80 square miles; and allowing two Pigeons 

 to the square yard, we have one billion one hundred and fifteen mil- 

 lions one hundred and thirty-six thousand Pigeons in one flock: and 

 as every Pigeon consumes fully half a pint per day, the quantity 

 required to feed such a flock must be eight millions seven hundred 

 and twelve thousand bushels per day !"f 



"Indeed, for a time," Nuttall correctly remarks, "in many places 

 nothing scarcely is seen, talked of, or eaten, but Pigeons!" 



* The Birds of America, by John James Audubon, vol. v, pp. 29-30. 

 \ Wilson, ibid, Appendix, vol. iv, p. 323. 

 Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. IV. 13 Aug., 187 7. 



