THE OSPREY. 



dozen Blackbirds, which alig^hted for a 

 moment's rest in a tree, was found to be 

 composed of four g-enera. 



Sociability is undoubtedly a prominent 

 feature in bird-life, and the desire for 

 association is indulg-ed in to the full ex- 

 tent of their wing-s. 



The strong- -win g-ed birds unite in larg-e 

 and often immense flocks. They seem to 

 be the most sociable of birds, but this 

 apparent difference in the love of society 

 is easily explained by their g-reater facil- 

 ity for collecting food on distant hunting- 

 g-rounds. 



A short-winged bird may possess the 

 same quality of sociableness, but its 

 weaker powers of flight forbid its g^ath- 

 ering- into larg-e flocks, because it cannot 

 spread readily over an equally larg-e terri- 

 tory in searcl* of food, and it cannot 

 escape approaching dang-er so easily as 

 its long--wing-ed cousin. 



The Snowflakes and Longspurs can 

 roam over the country in swarms of thous- 

 ands, the Towhee and Song--sparrow must 

 be satisfied with the company of a dozen 

 or two. 



While the Robin sports in flocks of 

 hundreds and is joined by thousands in 

 its roost, all the Thrasher can ever g-ather 

 for the nig-ht is a score, hardly many more. 



Swallows, Swifts, or Blackbirds 

 can afford to roost in company of hun- 

 dreds or thousands and still find plenty to 

 eat next morning, because their long and 

 strong- pinions carr}- them over hundreds 

 of square miles in a day. 



The short-winged Whip-poor-will could 

 never attempt to g-ather into such flocks 

 as the Nighthawk,nor could the Meadow- 

 lark g-o in equally larg-e masses as its near 

 relative, the Blackbird. 



The desire to associate exists amon^ 

 all birds with few exceptions, and it is 

 generally yielded to as far as the law of 

 self-preservation will allow. 



Only the assassin, the one who kills 

 its own kind if it g-ets a chance, that 

 selfish, blood-thirsty creature who does 

 not even spare its brothers and sisters; its 

 fate is doomed to solitude. Among- the 

 Passeres it is only the Shrike that be- 

 long-s to this class, but we find more of 

 them among the Rap tores. 



We do not know if they feel the op- 

 pression of loneliness, but we may sup- 

 pose that their solitude is not entirely a 

 matter of choice, but a consequence of 



being shunned by all others, even by their 

 own kind. Not all Raptores are such 

 savag-e murderers that they cannot at 

 times gratify the wish for temporary fel- 

 lowship. The species which do not ex- 

 clusively feed on warm-blooded animals 

 join each other often in their mig-rations, 

 and it is nothing- extraordinary to meet 

 with a scattered party of Short-eared 

 Owls, Marsh Hawks or Buteos. The in- 

 sectivorous kinds, especially the Kites, 

 are very sociable birds, and are often seen 

 to hunt in troops. Some Raptores even 

 breed in company, and colonies of the 

 Osprey and of the Burrowing Owl are 

 well-known facts. 



The carrion-eating- Cathartida? live in 

 company all the year. Some of the Wood- 

 peckers seem to like seclusion, but thoug-h 

 they are g-reat lovers of home, they are 

 no hermits. In its forest the Woodpecker 

 monopolizes a certain district which he 

 really needs for his wants, and in which 

 he cannot allow others of his kind to 

 hunt, lest lack of food would force him 

 to leave. He nevertheless enjoys the 

 company of others, and has invented, as 

 a substitute for song-, a sort of communi- 

 cation which allows intercourse at a dis- 

 tance, the drumming-. 



His voice is also in conformity with his 

 district, so that he has the pleasure of 

 hearing and being- heard without the risk 

 of losing control over his domain. 



Mig-rating- Woodpeckers are as sociable 

 as other birds. Sapsuckers travel and 

 winter in troops. Colaptes form larg-e, 

 loose flocks. 



On the morning- of March 23, '95, one 

 hundred Flickers passed over Creve Coeur 

 Lake in as many minutes, all following- 

 the bluffs northeastward. The Red- 

 headed W. moves in equally larg-e num- 

 bers. In a sing-le hour (10-11 a. m., Sept. 

 15, '84, ) 1 counted 284, crossing- the Mis- 

 sippi below St. Louis, g-oing- NE. 



Indeed, there are very few birds which 

 are non-g-reg-arious at all seasons, and 

 thoug-h not everyone may have a chance 

 to see a flock of Kingbirds, a troop of 

 Orioles, a battalion of northern Thrushes, 

 or a whole regfiment of Yellow-rumped 

 Warblers, such occurrences are indispu- 

 table facts. 



It is not safety from dang-er which 

 makes birds cong-reg-ate. It is not plain 

 why a Swift should be safer when hun- 

 dreds g-o noisily into one chimne}', than 



