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  They 
  appear 
  occasionally 
  in 
  such 
  incredible 
  flocks 
  as 
  

   to 
  obscure 
  the 
  sun 
  and 
  darken 
  the 
  air 
  in 
  their 
  flio-ht 
  

   which 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  continue, 
  scarcely 
  diminished, 
  

   for 
  several 
  days. 
  

  

  These 
  migrations 
  are 
  occasioned 
  by 
  the 
  breaking 
  up 
  of 
  

   large 
  roosts, 
  where 
  they 
  have 
  remained 
  until 
  the 
  timber 
  

   has 
  been 
  stripped 
  of 
  the 
  branches 
  by 
  the 
  large 
  numbers 
  

   roosting 
  upon 
  them, 
  and 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  heating 
  effects 
  of 
  

   the 
  large 
  accumulations 
  of 
  the 
  ordure 
  about 
  the 
  roots. 
  

   In 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  flights 
  observed 
  in 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  forty 
  

   years, 
  their 
  direction 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  the 
  northeast 
  through 
  

   the 
  State. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1851 
  and 
  1852, 
  large 
  numbers 
  en- 
  

   tered 
  the 
  State 
  and 
  remained 
  several 
  months, 
  establish- 
  

   ing 
  temporary 
  roosts 
  in 
  different 
  quarters, 
  from 
  which 
  

   they 
  ranged 
  daily 
  in 
  every 
  direction 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  food, 
  

   which 
  consisted 
  chiefly 
  of 
  beechnuts 
  and 
  acorns. 
  They 
  

   were 
  killed 
  in 
  large 
  numbers, 
  and 
  were 
  taken 
  in 
  common 
  

   bird 
  traps. 
  

  

  Sixty 
  years 
  since 
  an 
  extensive 
  roost 
  existed 
  on 
  Pigeon- 
  

   Roost 
  Creek, 
  in 
  Choctaw 
  County, 
  where 
  the 
  timber 
  was 
  

   all 
  killed, 
  and 
  the 
  roost 
  necessarily 
  abandoned. 
  

  

  The 
  prince 
  of 
  birds, 
  the 
  Eagle, 
  shuns 
  the 
  abode 
  of 
  man, 
  

   and 
  is 
  met 
  with 
  chiefly 
  on 
  the 
  borders 
  of 
  our 
  principal 
  

   streams, 
  and 
  is 
  perhaps 
  most 
  numerous 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   of 
  the 
  sea-shore. 
  Besides 
  the 
  Hawks 
  enumerated, 
  we 
  

   have 
  doubtless 
  several 
  others, 
  but 
  with 
  which 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  

   sufficiently 
  familiar 
  to 
  distinguish 
  from 
  foreign 
  species. 
  

   Like 
  the 
  cry 
  of 
  the 
  Nighthawk, 
  or 
  Whippoorwill, 
  

   the 
  startling 
  Boh 
  White 
  of 
  the 
  Partridge, 
  or 
  the 
  notes 
  of 
  

   other 
  imitative 
  birds 
  which 
  are 
  imagined 
  to 
  articulate 
  

   words 
  or 
  sentences, 
  the 
  hooting 
  of 
  our 
  great 
  owl 
  suggests 
  

   similar 
  resemblances, 
  and 
  ludicrous 
  associations 
  of 
  sound. 
  

   A 
  hunting 
  party, 
  encamped 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  night 
  in 
  the 
  

  

  