PASSENGER PIGEON. 



Ill 



torrent rolling along through the woods, every one striving to be 

 in the front. Vast numbers of them are shot while in this situa- 

 tion. A person told me, that he once rode furiously into one of 

 these rolling multitudes, and picked up thirteen Pigeons which had 

 been trampled to death by his horse's feet. In a few minutes they 

 will beat the whole nuts from a tree with their wings, while all is 

 a scramble, both above and below, for the same. They have the 

 same cooing notes common to domestic Pigeons ; but much less of 

 their gesticulations. In some flocks you will find nothing but young 

 ones, which are easily distinguishable by their motley dress. In 

 others they will be mostly females ; and again great multitudes of 

 males, with few or no females. I cannot account for this in any 

 other way than that during the time of incubation the males are 

 exclusively engaged in procuring food, both for themselves and 

 their mates ; and the young being unable yet to undertake these 

 extensive excursions, associate together accordingly. But even in 

 winter I know of several species of birds who separate in this man- 

 ner, particularly the Red-winged Starling, among whom thousands 

 of old males may be found with few or no young or females along 

 with them. 



Stragglers from these immense armies settle in almost every 

 part of the country, particularly among the beech woods, and in 

 the pine and hemlock woods of the eastern and northern parts of 

 the continent. Mr. Pennant informs us, that thev breed near Moose 

 fort at Hudson's Bay, in N. lat. 51% and I myself have seen the re- 

 mains of a large breeding place as far south as the country of the 

 Chactaws, in lat. 32°. In the former of these places they are said 

 to remain until December; from which circumstance it is evident 

 that they are not regular in their migrations like many other spe- 

 cies, but rove about, as scarcity of food urges them. Every spring, 

 however, as well as Fall, more or less of them are seen in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Philadelphia; but it is only once in several years that 

 they appear in such formidable bodies ; and this commonly when 



