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 fair 
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 
