232 Wald Life in a Southern County. 
the preserves, and some declare they can see the flash, 
even though invisible to human eyes, at noon-day. 
Clustering cones hang from the firs, fringing the 
copse on one side—first green, and then a pale buff, 
and falling at last hard and brown to strew the earth 
beneath. In the thick foliage of this belt of firs the 
_ Starlings love to roost. If you should be passing along 
any road—east, north, west, or south—a mile or two 
distant, as the sun is sinking and evening approaching, 
suddenly there will come a rushing sound in the air 
overhead: it is a flock of starlings flying in their 
determined manner straight for the distant copse. 
From every direction these flocks converge upon it: 
some large, some composed only of a dozen birds, but 
all with the same intent. If the country chances to 
be open, the hedges low, and the spectator on a rise 
so as to see over some distance, he may observe several 
such flights at the same time. Rooks, in returning to 
roost fly in long streams, starlings in numerous separate 
divisions. This is especially noticeable in summer, 
when the divisions are composed of fewer birds: in 
winter the starlings congregate in larger bodies. 
It would appear that after the young birds are able 
to fly they flock together in parties by themselves, the 
old birds clubbing together also, but all meeting at 
night. The parties of young birds are easily distin- 
guished by their lighter colour. This may not be an 
invariable rule (for the birds to range themselves 
according to age), but it is the case frequently. 
