HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS 71 
again. When the second brood is ready to go 
out, the whole family often unite in a small flock. 
In some cases, where they could be watched, they 
have been known to stay so all winter. All 
through July and August, in the New England 
and Middle States, one may see these pretty little 
family groups. 
Some birds who live and nest by themselves, 
each pair in its own tree, or bush, or field, come 
together in larger parties after the young are 
grown, in a social way. <A few do this only at 
night, in what are called roosts, which I spoke 
of in a former chapter. 
Other birds, when nestlings are out, unite in 
flocks, and stay so all the time, or through the 
winter. Our pretty little goldtinch does this. 
Most of the birds we see about our homes like 
to have a tree or bush to themselves for their 
nest. But there are many birds that live close 
together all the time. Some, you may say, in 
small villages, — swallows, for instance. We 
generally see several swallows flying about to- 
gether. They make their nests near each other. 
The barn swallow chooses the beams inside the 
barn, and there are often three or four or more 
nests in the same barn. 
The eave swallows put their mud cottages in 
a row, under the eaves outside the barn. One 
