The Flocking of Binds 



"When I ride about in winter, and see such prodigious flocks of 

 various kinds of birds, I cannot help admiring at these congrega- 

 tions, and wishing that it was in my power to account for those 

 appearances, almost peculiar to the season. 



The two great motives which regulate the proceedings of the 

 brute creation are love and hunger. 



As to love, that is out of the question at a time of the year when 

 that soft passion is not indulged. 



Now as to the business of food. As these animals [or birds] are 

 actuated by instinct to hunt for necessary food, they should not, one 

 would suppose, crowd together in pursuit of sustenance, at a time 

 when it is most likely to fail ; yet such associations do take place in 

 hard weather chiefly, and thicken as the severity increases. 



A crowd may make each individual appear safer from the ravages 

 of birds of prey, and other dangers." 



Ill 



