164 



ZO<>LO<;Y. 



miles, Init the flight of the migratory pigeons still went on; 

 this phenomenon continued for tlmv (lays; the droppings 

 from the birds formed ;t distinct layer on the soil ; fmv>ts 

 were stripped of their leaves, and sometimes destroyed, and 

 tin- traces of their passage will remain for years. 



Fishes and insects are also gregarious, the herring for 

 example, and locust : the former assembling in vast shoals, 

 and the latter in such numbers as to devastate a country. 



i. The 1'sittaeus infucatus is described by Levaillant 

 inhling in numbers towards evening to bathe and sport 

 in some limpid stream, returning to the woods so soon a> the 

 evening pastime is finished. It is this instinct of sociability 

 which brings together the warren rabbit and the prairie 

 dog of America, a small rodent, with habits resembling 

 generally this class of animals. But it is chiefly in the 

 beaver, the wasp, bee, and ant, that this sociable instinct 

 shows itself in its utmost development; that is, instinct 

 directing all towards some common labour. 



331. The Canadian beaver is of all animals the most 

 remarkable for its sociability and instinctive industry. Du- 

 ring summer it leads a solitary life in burrows dug by the 

 banks of some lake or river ; but, when winter approaches, it 



Fig. 110. The Beaver. 



quits its burrow to assemble with its fellows to construct in 

 common with them its winter dwelling. In a spot remark- 

 able for its solitude, a group of two or three hundred assemble. 



