200 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



mon enough in this country every summer, but I have never 

 seen anything like the innumerable hosts of pigeons that 

 fill the sky in the forests of the west. Wilson and Audubon, 

 each in his own felicitous manner, have described the comings 

 and goings of these countless swarms ; the eclipsed sun, the 

 rushing roar, the crash' of broken trees as they alight, the 

 report of fire-arms, the shouts of the people, the howls of the 

 wild beasts, the eagles and vultures, the greedy hogs, and 

 the unimaginable confusion and uproar attending such scenes 

 as these. To give some idea of the abundance of these birds, 

 both of these eminent naturalists have made a rough compu- 

 tation of the number contained in particular flocks seen 

 by them. Wilson makes his flock to contain two thousand 

 two hundred and thirty millions, two hundred and seventy- 

 two thousand pigeons : Audubon supposes one billion one 

 hundred and fifteen millions, one hundred and thirty-six 

 thousand to have been contained in the flock seen by him ; 

 and the quantity of food necessary for this single flock to 

 be nearly nine millions of bushels per day. The mind is 

 lost in endeavouring to form an idea commensurate with 

 these vast numbers ; and this small, and apparently insigni- 

 ficant bird, may justly be considered one of the wonders 



of this western world. There are two sitting on 



a limb of yonder beech ; be cautious, and you have a fail- 

 opportunity of observing them. 



C. It is a very pretty bird : the slenderness of the 

 body, and length of the tail, make it a more elegant bird 

 than the tame pigeon, but there is a family resemblance ; the 

 prevalence of blue, and the changeable metallic gloss of the 

 feathers, show its affinity. 



F. They are much sought after for the table, as the 

 flesh is delicate, and many are killed during their sojourn 

 with us : they fly, as -you see, very swiftly, and make very 

 little noise with their wings. The sun shining on the flocks 



