The Gathering of the Clans. 263 



cussed my companion, the dog, and myself vigor- 

 ously. They enjoyed the novelty, and all through 

 the nigiit their tremulous tones broke the still- 

 ness of the dense, dark woods. I dreamed of 

 huge flocks of owls, such as no man ever saw, 

 and was routed at dawn by a great rushing of 

 wings that seemed dangerously close at hand. It 

 was a flock of blackbirds. 



Birds are social, and whatever may have been 

 the conditions at the dawn of bird-life, their gath- 

 erings now are purely pleasurable. I do not think 

 any advantage to the individual can come of it, 

 other than satisfying social impulses. Let us go 

 back of the formation of these huge flocks and 

 give a moment's notice to another phase of a bird's 

 existence. This, from a recent paper, covers the 

 whole ground : " Most birds, we are told, ' pair 

 once for all, till either one or the other dies.' Dr. 

 Brehm, the author of ' Bird-Life,' is so filled with 

 admiration for their exemplary family-life as to be 

 led to declare enthusiastically that ' real genuine 

 marriage can only be found among birds.' " The 

 initial point of flocking is there, that of mating ; 

 later, the family keep largely together ; towards 



