30 The Passenger Pigeon 



It Is extremely interesting to see flock after flock per- 

 forming exactly the same evolutions which had been 

 traced as it were in the air by a preceding flock. Thus, 

 should a hawk have charged on a group at a certain 

 spot, the angles, curves and undulations that have been 

 described by the birds, in their efforts to escape from 

 the dreaded talons of the plunderer, are undeviatingly 

 followed by the next group that comes up. Should the 

 bystander happen to witness one of these affrays, and, 

 struck with the rapidity and elegance of the motions 

 exhibited, feel desirous of seeing them repeated, his 

 wishes will be gratified if he only remain in the place 

 until the next group comes up. 



It may not, perhaps, be out of place to attempt an 

 estimate of the number of pigeons contained in one of 

 those mighty flocks, and of the quantity of food daily 

 consumed by its members. The inquiry will tend to 

 show the astonishing beauty of the great Author of 

 Nature in providing for the wants of His creatures. 

 Let us take a column of one mile in breadth, which is 

 far below the average size, and suppose it passing over 

 us without intemiption for three hours, at the rate 

 mentioned above of one mile in a minute. This will 

 give a parallelogram of one hundred and eighty by 

 one, covering one hundred and eighty square miles. 

 Allowing two pigeons to the square yard, we have one 

 billion, one hundred and fifty millions, one hundred and 

 thirty-six thousand pigeons in one flock. As every 



