GREGARIOUS IMPULSE 267 



of Waders roam about the tidal estuaries in 

 search of food, and different kinds of Gulls 

 assemble there and preen their feathers or sleep ; 

 Warblers alter their mode of life, and in the 

 osier bed, or amongst the elders, seek their food 

 together in peace ; Finches, Buntings, Pipits, 

 and Wagtails, though food is everywhere 

 abundant, gather themselves together respec- 

 tively into bands which, as winter approaches, 

 grow into flocks and even into composite flocks ; 

 and as the Warblers leave for the south, so their 

 places are filled by flocks of Thrushes and 

 Finches from the north. In whatever direction 

 we turn, when the days begin to shorten, it is 

 the community, not the individual, that thrusts 

 itself upon our attention ; and throughout the 

 winter continues to be the outstanding feature 

 of bird life. 



With the approach of the breeding season 

 we witness that remarkable change which I have 

 endeavoured to make clear in the previous 

 chapters — the disintegration of the flock and 

 the reinstatement of the individual. Instead 

 of continuing with the flock, the individual now 

 goes forth to seek the appropriate breeding 

 ground ; and having arrived there, is not only 

 content to remain in isolation, but so behaves 

 that isolation is insured. Intolerant of the 

 approach of a stranger, intolerant even of the 

 approach of the very members of the community 

 whose companionship was previously welcomed, 

 it not only fights to maintain the position it has 

 selected, but fights indeed for the possession of 



