186 WONDERS OF ORGANIC LIFE. 



of autumnal migration comes on, numbers 

 congregate together, and take their south- 

 eastern course. In flocks, likewise, do they 

 return in spring, to separate into pairs on their 

 arrival. Some birds, as the linnet, which 

 during the summer is solitary in our sense of 

 the term, are gregarious during the winter, as, 

 for example, the fieldfare and the starling. 

 On the contrary, the robin is solitary and 

 pugnacious, defending its territory from the 

 encroachment of a rival. But under what 

 head shall we class the polygamous birds, as 

 the ruff, the capercalize, and the wild turkey — 

 species, the males of which are solitary, the 

 females under his governance partly gregari- 

 ous, while as autumn comes on, males, females, 

 and the young birds of the year associate in 

 families together ? or the partridge, which pairs 

 with a single mate, but associates in autumn 

 and winter, not only with its own brood, but 

 often unites that with other broods, so as to 

 form a large covey ? In these and similar in- 

 stances we may call the species temporarily 

 gregarious. Such are also the lapwing, the 

 wheat-ear, and many more. 



But, perhaps, we ought to observe that under 

 the term gregarious two different meanings are 

 to be understood. There is voluntary and in- 

 voluntary association. The rook, the starling, 

 the antelope, are- voluntarily gregarious — their 

 own instinctive nature inclines them to be so ; 

 but, on the other hand, the character of the 

 soil, of the water, of the atmosphere, causes a 



